Burton Albion take on Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday in a clash which carries huge implications at both ends of the League One table.
Burton head into the meeting two points clear of the relegation zone, while Wycombe are four points off the playoff places with a game in hand on sixth-placed Derby County.
Match preview
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After enduring a disastrous start to the season, which saw Burton collect just one point from their opening eight matches and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink resign from his position as manager, the Brewers have gradually improved as the campaign as wore on to move themselves outside of the bottom four.
Burton have become much tougher to beat under the Dutchman's former assistant manager Dino Maamria since his appointment in September, particularly on home soil at Pirelli Stadium, where they have lost just one of their last 10 league matches.
However, after crashing to a 4-0 defeat away to automatic promotion contenders Ipswich Town at the weekend, they are far from being out of the woods just yet. Two successive home fixtures against playoff contenders Wycombe and Peterborough United within the next week will be an excellent gauge of Maamria's side's improvement.
Having avoided being relegated to League Two since the club's first ever promotion from the fourth tier in 2015, the Tunisian will be desperate to keep his side at this level, which they are well placed to do with games in hand and points on the board on their side.
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Wycombe, meanwhile, claimed their first win under new manager Matt Bloomfield by beating Fleetwood Town 2-0 on Tuesday evening.
The 39-year-old undoubtedly has huge boots to fill after club legend Gareth Ainsworth opted to become Queens Park Rangers manager last month, but a combination of his 557 appearances for Wycombe as a player and his recent excellent work leading Colchester United away from relegation danger in League Two should earn Bloomfield plenty of time to prove himself.
After only collecting one point combined from an away trip to Shrewsbury Town and a home match against Exeter City, Bloomfield would have been delighted to see goals from Chris Forino-Joseph and Sam Vokes finally get his reign up and running at Adams Park.
With Derby simultaneously losing to Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday, both the Rams and Bolton Wanderers are clearly catchable within League One's playoff positions, with Wycombe appearing to be the likeliest team to overhaul one of them between now and the end of the campaign.
Team News
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Burton are set to remain without Louis Moult and William Kokolo due to injury, with Maamria likely to be considering a few changes after shipping four goals away to Ipswich last time out.
Samuel Lavelle provides a stable option in defence, with the likes of Zac Ashworth and Bobby Kamwa hoping for recalls to the starting XI after only appearing from the bench at Portman Road.
Wycombe, meanwhile, are likely to remain without Dominic Gape and Ryan Tafazolli due to hamstring issues.
Having returned to winning ways against Fleetwood on Tuesday, Bloomfield is unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI, assuming that he has no concerns regarding fatigue or any potential knocks.
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
MacGillivray; Shaughnessy, Hughes, Moon; Bayford, Oshilaja, Powell, Hamer; Smith, Helm; Taylor
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; McCarthy, Grimmer, Forino-Joseph, Jacobson; Wing, Freeman; Hanlan, Wheeler, McCleary; Vokes
We say: Burton Albion 0-2 Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe will have gained plenty of confidence from their victory against Fleetwood in midweek, and we can envisage that being a springboard for Bloomfield's side mounting a serious push to finish within the playoff spots.
Burton have been relatively tough to beat on their home patch in recent months, but there is little doubt that the visitors possess more individual quality and should be targeting three points.
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Top tip
Brett Curtis
