Bottom of the table Burton Albion will play host to high-flying Wycombe Wanderers at the Pirelli Stadium on Tuesday evening in League One.
The hosts are at the foot of the standings with just four points from 10 games, while the visitors are in third with 20 points from their first 10 fixtures.
Match preview
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Burton Albion have found themselves gradually slipping lower down the League One standings since suffering relegation into the third tier from the Championship in 2017-18.
They finished ninth in their first year back in 2018-19, followed by 12th in 2019-20, 16th in both 2020-21 and 2021-22, a slight improvement to 15th in 2022-23, before dropping to 20th last year.
Their safety in the division was not secure until the final whistle on the last day of the 2023-24 season, with them narrowly surviving with just a two-point lead over the drop zone.
Burton Albion's start to the 2024-25 campaign signals another likely fall down the standings in League One, with the Brewers sitting at the bottom of the table with a measly four points from 10 games.
Mark Robinson's men are the only team remaining in the third division yet to secure a league victory, while only two teams have conceded more than their 21 goals, though both of those have played two additional games.
They come into this one currently suffering a six-game losing streak across all competitions, their longest losing run since losing eight consecutive games between February and March 2012.
Robinson's side will now face another challenging test against high-flying Wycombe Wanderers before facing Cambridge United in what could already be a crucial relegation-six pointer at this early stage of the season.
In stark contrast to their hosts, Wycombe have made a superb start in their pursuit of promotion back to the Championship after being relegated from the second tier in their sole appearance during the 2020-21 season.
They started the term with back-to-back league defeats to Wrexham and Birmingham City, the only two teams above them in the table, but have since remained undefeated in the subsequent eight League One fixtures.
The Chairboys did endure a narrow 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in the EFL Cup third round during that run, but a positive performance against top Premier League opposition has undoubtedly boosted their confidence, as reflected in their results.
No team in the league has scored more than Wycombe's 20 goals in 10 games, with Birmingham City and Peterborough United tied on goals, although the Posh have played 12 times, giving Wycombe added confidence against Burton's leaky defence.
Team News
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Geraldo Bajrami remains unavailable for the hosts as he continues his lengthy recovery from an ACL injury, while Billy Bodin is also a doubt having failed to feature since picking up a calf injury at the end of August.
Ciaran Gilligan and Dylan Williams were shipped off at half-time in their defeat to Bolton Wanderers, and the pair could be resigned to the bench in favour of Jack Cooper-Love and Nicholas Akoto.
As for Wycombe, Ryan Tafazolli, Sam Vokes, and Brandon Hanlan are all ruled out of this match due to ongoing injuries, with the trio continuing their recoveries.
Richard Kone sensationally came off the bench with the Chairboys trailing 1-0 to Peterborough United in their last outing, scoring a nine-minute hat trick to turn the game around as they emerged 3-1 winners, likely earning him a start in this match.
Elsewhere, Matt Bloomfield may opt to name a similar starting 11 to the team that has produced a series of high-level performances in their recent outings.
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Isted; Bannon, Sweeney, Sraha, Akoto; Watt, Chauke; Kalinauskas, Bennett, Cooper-Love; Orsi-Dadomo
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Ravizzoli; Grimmer, Low, Taylor, Harvie; McCleary, Humphreys, Morley, Scowen, Udoh; Kone
We say: Burton Albion 1-3 Wycombe Wanderers
These two sides are in completely opposing form heading into the game, with Wycombe undoubtedly the favourites against a team that are yet to secure a league victory, leading us to expect a comfortable win for the visitors.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
