Plymouth Argyle will aim to keep hold of their spot in the top two of the League One table on Saturday, when they welcome Forest Green Rovers to Home Park.
The Pilgrims suffered a disappointing defeat away at Barnsley last weekend to see their lead over the chasing pack reduced, while the visitors find themselves rooted to the foot of the division and winless in 15 league games.
Match preview
© Reuters
Plymouth Argyle have certainly enjoyed a strong campaign thus far on the whole in their bid to return to the Championship, having consistently maintained a position in the top two while only recently dropping off the summit and behind Sheffield Wednesday.
However, the last few weeks have been some of the toughest of the term for Steven Schumacher's side, who have managed just two victories from a five-match span in the league, after accumulating 67 points from their opening 31 outings.
Following a disappointing goalless draw at home to Fleetwood Town, the Pilgrims travelled to take on Peterborough United and were dealt a 5-2 beating in late February, before quickly bouncing back to stay ahead of the chasing pack with consecutive 2-0 and 2-1 triumphs at home to Charlton Athletic and Derby County.
Those results meant they went into the weekend with a five-point lead over third-placed Ipswich Town, but Schumacher's men faced the tough test of a trip to fellow promotion-chasers Barnsley and came away empty-handed as Adam Phillips, Mads Andersen and Nicky Cadden got on the scoresheet in a dominant 3-0 home victory at Oakwell.
Following that defeat, and with Ipswich and Barnsley both in fine form in the chasing pack, the Pilgrims' cushion is now thinner than ever, and they will be keen to quickly bounce back and stay in the top two going into the final months of the season.
© Reuters
They will likely see Saturday as a good opportunity to do so, as they welcome a Forest Green Rovers who find themselves slipping towards relegation in the midst of a poor run of form.
With just 21 points on the board from the opening 28 League One games, the Rovers turned to Duncan Ferguson to take the reins in January, but the new boss has been unable to inspire an upturn in form thus far.
Indeed, in his eight matches at the helm, Ferguson has not yet overseen a victory, while his side have only managed to add two points to their tally in eight further attempts.
Following a 1-1 draw at home to Lincoln City in late February, the Rovers now come into Saturday's trip on the back of two more defeats on the bounce, firstly falling just short away at Accrington Stanley before being beaten 3-1 by Bristol Rovers on home turf last weekend, despite Charlie Savage putting them ahead early on, as a John Marquis brace and a Scott Sinclair goal made the difference for the visitors.
As a result of their poor form in recent months, with the most recent of their five league wins for the season coming in December, Forest Green Rovers find themselves stranded at the bottom of the division with a seven-point gap to 23rd-placed Cambridge United and a 12-point gap to safety, and with just 10 games of the league season left to play, they will know that they require a drastic upturn in form to stand a chance of remaining in the fight for survival.
Team News
© Reuters
Plymouth Argyle should again be without centre-back Dan Scarr and goalkeeper Michael Cooper, meaning the defensive unit will likely remain unchanged with Nigel Lonwijk, Macauley Gillesphey and James Wilson lining up as a back three in front of stopper Callum Burton.
Attacker Sam Cosgrove is also sidelined, although there is plenty of competition in attack between the likes of Finn Azaz, Danny Mayor, Niall Ennis and Callum Wright to flank frontman Ryan Hardie, who has netted 17 goals in all competitions so far this season, including 13 in League One.
Competition is also rife in midfield, with Jordan Houghton fighting to come back into the engine room from the outset after Jay Matete and Matt Butcher were preferred last weekend.
Forest Green Rovers will remain without defender Oliver Casey, who will continue to serve a suspension after he was shown a straight red card in their defeat away at Accrington Stanley.
Although he is yet to score in 11 League One appearances since joining the club, Amadou Bakayoko will again lead the line, with support from the likes of Swansea City loanee and former Plymouth man Jordon Garrick, who has hit the net three times in his 11 third-tier appearances for the club.
Myles Peart-Harris is another key man in the attack, having contributed five goals and three assists this term, while Manchester United loanee Charlie Savage will again join Dylan McGeouch in the engine room.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Burton; Lonwijk, Gillesphey, Scarr; Mumba, Matete, Houghton, Miller; Azaz, Hardie, Ennis
Forest Green Rovers possible starting lineup:
Thomas; Bernard, Godwin-Malife, Cooper, Robson; Savage, McGeouch; O'Keefe, Peart-Harris, Garrick; Bakayoko
We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Forest Green Rovers
Knowing they have no more room for error with the gap to Ipswich reduced to two points, Plymouth will be desperate to return to winning ways on home turf at the weekend and should have more than enough quality to see off a Forest Green Rovers side lacking any confidence.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
