Two sides at opposite ends of the League One table will do battle on Saturday, as promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers make the trip to take on strugglers Doncaster Rovers.
The visitors will look to stretch their winning run to four league games, while their hosts will hope to build on a recent home victory over Milton Keynes Dons in their bid to climb off the foot of the division.
Match preview
© Reuters
After their playoff push was derailed in the final run of last season following the departure of Darren Moore, Doncaster Rovers will have headed into the new campaign with the hopes of a fresh start, but they have had to endure a particularly difficult opening spell.
A poor start saw the Reds sit at the bottom of the table with just one point from their first six games, before Richie Wellens's side finally put their first win on the board against Morecambe.
They were unable to build on that though, as they were quickly beaten by Plymouth Argyle and thrashed 6-0 by an Ipswich Town side who have underperformed so far, before returning to winning ways in their last outing.
The Yorkshire outfit put a crucial three-point haul on the board at the beginning of October, as goals from Tommy Rowe and Tiago Cukur either side of a Peter Kioso equaliser fired them to a 2-1 home win over MK Dons at the Keepmoat Stadium.
While the recent international break may have come at a bad time for the Rovers, who would have looked to quickly build momentum, they will now return to action with the hopes of putting a run together to kickstart a climb up the table.
They face the unenviable task of taking on a Wycombe side who will look to storm back into the Championship after dropping down from the second tier last season.
Gareth Ainsworth's men began the campaign in style, establishing themselves in the hunt for a top-two finish with victories over Accrington Stanley, Cheltenham Town and Lincoln City, before somewhat stagnating with defeats to Sunderland and MK Dons.
The Chairboys prevented any long-term slump quickly though, as Joe Jacobsen and Ryan Tafazolli fired them back to winning ways against Shrewsbury Town, before they made it back-to-back victories in dramatic fashion against Morecambe.
Ainsworth's side quickly fell two goals behind, but they turned the game on its head as Daryl Horgan, Sam Vokes and Tafazolli gave them a lead, before Jonah Ayunga drew the visitors level with 10 minutes to go and Curtis Thompson popped up with an injury-time winner to snatch a 4-3 victory for his side.
They now come into Saturday's game on the back of a far more convincing victory, as goals in the first 10 minutes from Garath McCleary and Brandon Hanlan saw them cruise to a 2-0 home win over Gillingham last Saturday.
Now sitting in second spot, level on points with league leaders Plymouth Argyle with a game in hand, they will be keen to continue their strong run of form and put another victory on the board to strengthen their place in the automatic promotion spots.
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
Following their improved showing prior to the international break, Wellens will likely avoid making many changes to his Doncaster side as they search for another crucial win.
Forward Tiago Cukur will be hopeful of earning a start though, after he came off the bench to net the winning goal in that game.
Former Tottenham Hotspur man John Bostock will continue to handle business in the midfield alongside Ben Close and Ethan Galbraith.
After last week's convincing victory, Wycombe are expected to deploy an unchanged side for Saturday's clash.
Experienced striker Sam Vokes will continue to lead the line, after joining in the summer from Stoke City, while Garath McCleary and Jordan Obita will offer plenty of quality from the flanks.
Anthony Stewart and Ryan Tafazolli form a strong defensive pairing, and they will continue to partner up in a back four.
Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:
Dahlberg; Knoyle, Anderson, Williams, Rowe; Galbraith, Bostock, Close; Hiwula, Cukur, Vilca
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; McCarthy, Tafazolli, Stewart, Jacobsen; Thompson; McCleary, Scowen, Obita; Vokes, Hanlan
We say: Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers
While Doncaster have started to show more positive signs, Saturday presents a particularly tough task, and we expect the Wycombe juggernaut to keep rolling.
Ainsworth has developed a well-oiled machine, and they will be keen to make it four league wins on the bounce.
Top tip
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 Wycombe Wanderers win with a probability of 42.95%. A win for Doncaster Rovers had a probability of 30.21% and a draw had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wycombe Wanderers win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.74%) and 0-2 (7.9%). The likeliest Doncaster Rovers win was 1-0 (9.27%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.72%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Wycombe Wanderers would win this match.
