Seeking to pick up a fourth consecutive home victory in League Two, Tranmere Rovers go head to head with Swindon Town at Prenton Park on Saturday.
Unbeaten in the last four meetings between the two sides, the Robins will head into the weekend looking to extend their dominance over the hosts and move into the playoffs places.
Match preview
© Reuters
For the first time in several weeks, Tranmere Rovers were let down by their frontmen as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Walsall at the Bescot Stadium last Saturday.
Leading up to the clash, the Superwhites had scored 11 goals in five league outings — converting three of their five big chances — while conceding five goals in that time.
However, Tranmere were guilty of a lack of sting in attack last weekend they failed to convert several goalscoring chances as Jamille Matt struck shortly after the hour mark to hand the hosts all three points.
Prior to that, Nigel Adkins's men were on a four-match unbeaten run, picking up two wins and two draws since a penalty-shootout defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic in the EFL Trophy on November 14.
Tranmere have now lost 13 of their 22 League Two games so far while claiming six wins and three draws to collect 21 points and sit 21st in the league table, just six points above the bottom two.
While they will be looking to return to winning ways this weekend and continue their impressive home form, their results against Swindon Town give little reason for optimism, with the Robins going unbeaten in their most recent four meetings and claiming 10 wins and three draws in their last 16 since August 2008.
Elsewhere, this weekend's visitors were left empty handed once again last time out when they suffered a 3-0 defeat against Barrow at the County Ground.
Swindon were simply outplayed and outwitted by Pete Wild's men as Kian Spence, Sam Foley and James Chester all found the back of the net to hand the visitors a resounding victory.
This further highlighted Swindon's recent struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they had allowed four goals in a humbling 4-0 loss at the hands of AFC Wimbledon seven days earlier.
Michael Flynn's men have now failed to win 10 of their last 12 matches across all competitions, picking up two draws and losing eight, including a 7-4 hammering against Aldershot Town in the FA Cup on November 4.
Despite failing to make the net ripple in their last two matches, Swindon have scored 43 league goals this season, but they currently hold the division's third-worst defensive record, having also shipped 43 goals — only Colchester United (44) and rock-bottom Sutton United (48) have conceded more.
For all their recent struggles, the Wiltshire outfit are currently 12th in the League Two standings, level on points with Milton Keynes Dons and Crawley Town, and could move into the playoff places with all three points this weekend.
Team News
Tranmere once again have to cope without experienced forward Luke Norris, who has been out of action since picking up an injury midway through the 3-0 victory over Forest Green Rovers on November 11.
Despite last weekend's disappointing result, we expect Adkins to name a similar starting side this Saturday, with Connor Jennings and Kristian Dennis leading the attack once again.
We expect an unchanged back four of Connor Wood, Jean Belehouan, Josef Yarney and Lee O'Connor, while Luke McGee should retain their roles at the centre of the park.
As for Swindon Town, they remain without the services of 22-year-old defender Reece Devine, who has been sidelined since March through injury.
He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow defender Benn Ward, who picked up an injury in August, while midfielder Tariq Uwakwe also continues his long road to full fitness.
English striker Rushian Hepburn-Murphy has missed each of the Robins' last six matches since coming off injured against Stockport County on November 11 and will also play no part in this weekend's game.
Tranmere Rovers possible starting lineup:
McGee; Wood, Belehouan, Yarney, O'Connor; Morris, Hendry, Walker, Apter; Dennis, Jennings
Swindon Town possible starting lineup:
Mahoney; Hutton, Godwin-Malife, Minturn, Kokolo; Kinsella, Khan, McEachran; Kemp, Austin, Dworzak
We say: Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Swindon Town
Given their recent run of results against the hosts, Swindon Town will fancy themselves to come away with the desired result this weekend. However, Tranmere have won their last three home games in the league and we are tipping them to come away with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
