Burton Albion and Fleetwood Town will do battle at the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday, as both sides look to end poor runs of form.
The two teams have each lost their last three games, while the visitors have gone 10 matches without a win, seeing them fall within a point of the relegation zone in the League One table.
Match preview
© Reuters
Burton Albion enjoyed a relatively strong first half to the League One campaign, toying with a place in the top half, but they have since fallen into somewhat of a slump.
After stopping a winless run with an impressive 3-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers, thanks to John Brayford's brace and a Josh Powell goal, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's side have since had to endure another five-match run without a victory, firstly losing 3-0 to Ipswich Town and drawing with Sunderland.
The Brewers now head into Saturday on the back of three consecutive defeats, as they were most recently beaten 4-1 by Oxford United last weekend after another damning 5-2 loss at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.
As a result of their sharp dip, Hasselbaink's men have dropped to 15th spot in the division, and, while they have a comfortable cushion over the drop zone, they will still be keen to stop the rot and boost their league position with an elusive win this weekend.
They welcome a Fleetwood side in a far less favourable predicament at the bottom of the division, as the visitors sit just a point above the drop zone.
The Cod Army have had to endure a difficult campaign on the whole, but they looked to have gained a vital cushion over the relegation zone with two pairs of consecutive wins, firstly defeating Bolton Wanderers and Gillingham at home in December before triumphing over Doncaster Rovers and league leaders Rotherham United after the turn of the year.
Stephen Crainey's side have been unable to build on those, though, and have now failed to win any of their last 10 outings in League One, picking up just five points in the process.
Most recently, the Lancashire outfit fell to a 3-1 away defeat at the hands of Sunderland on Tuesday, as Ellis Harrison's opener was cancelled out Elliot Embleton before Luke O'Nien and Jack Clarke found the net late on to send the visitors home empty-handed.
Despite sides below them continuously faltering, the Cod Army have dropped to 19th spot as a result of their sudden slump, and, with just a one-point cushion over the relegation zone, they will be desperate to reverse their fortunes to increase that gap.
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Team News
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has added experience to his Burton side recently with the signings of forward Oumar Niasse and midfielder Adlene Guediora, and they both enjoyed scoring starts to life with the Brewers against Sheffield Wednesday.
Guediora was again on the scoresheet in the loss to Oxford United last time out, and the Algerian should again partner Terry Taylor in the engine room.
John Brayford is a key man at the back, and the 34-year-old should again play at the heart of the defensive line with Deji Oshilaja and Sam Hughes.
Fleetwood are without defender Zak Jules, who will serve a suspension after he was sent off late in the defeat to Sunderland, while experienced striker Joe Garner will also continue to serve a ban.
Ellis Harrison will continue to lead the line after opening the scoring in that game, with winger Shayden Morris offering further threat going forward.
Young midfielder Paddy Lane has been a shining light for the Cod Army this season, and he will again play a key role from the outset.
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Garratt; Hughes, Brayford, Oshilaja; Hamer, Guediora, Taylor, Borthwick-Jackson; Smith, Niasse, Powell
Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:
Cairns; Johnson, Nsiala, Clarke, Andrew; Boyle; Morris, Lane, Johnston; G Garner, Harrison
We say: Burton Albion 2-2 Fleetwood Town
Given both sides' struggles for victories recently, we see a draw as the most likely outcome.
They will each see it as a good opportunity to reverse their fortunes and chances could be abundant, given their shared defensive frailties, but we ultimately expect them to cancel one another out.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Burton Albion win with a probability of 51.11%. A win for Fleetwood Town had a probability of 24.59% and a draw had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Burton Albion win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.63%) and 2-0 (8.91%). The likeliest Fleetwood Town win was 0-1 (6.91%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.53%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Burton Albion would win this match.
