Morecambe have the chance to climb out of the League Two relegation zone on Saturday when they host Cheltenham Town at Globe Arena.
The visitors only managed two victories in their previous six fixtures, which is something that they will be hoping to improve upon as they sit just outside of the top half.
Match preview
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Morecambe have gone nine games without a victory heading into Saturday's match, which is something that the squad will be keen to fix as they continue to fight against the threat of relegation.
The Shrimps currently find themselves 21st in the table right now, but a victory against Cheltenham has the chance to lift them out of that, depending on other results, as they sit just one point behind both AFC Wimbledon and Fleetwood Town.
However, while the club have been struggling recently, they have managed to draw three of their previous six matches, which included their most recent outing where they shared the points with Bolton Wanderers.
Derek Adams was left frustrated that they did not get more from the game though after Cole Stockton had given them the lead, yet Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scored in the 94th minute to take that win away from them.
Morecambe will be hoping they can take that close encounter into this match, where they shall look to put pressure on the teams above them.
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Cheltenham Town might be higher in the league table, but away from home they have had a lot of problems picking up victories, having only won two games on the road throughout this season.
Their problems continued on Tuesday when Michael Duff's team were defeated by MK Dons, with Troy Parrott scoring a brace, as Mohamed Eisa also scoring, and a late goal from William Boyle proved to be nothing more than a consolation in the 3-1 result.
The Robins have been stronger than that defensively as of late, having kept clean sheets in half of their last six matches, which is something they will want to get back.
Cheltenham could climb into the top half with three points on Saturday, depending on other results, which will provide the squad with plenty to fight for.
When the two teams met earlier this season, Duff's team were able to take the victory with a 3-1 win as Liam Sercombe scoring and Kyle Joseph got a brace, which is a result they would be happy to repeat.
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Team News
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Morecambe were able to welcome back Greg Leigh, Aaron Wildig and Toumani Diagouraga into the squad during their last outing after they previously missed out via an illness, and they will continue to be options for Adams this weekend.
With the Shrimps typically having five at the back, they will bring a more defensive lineup into this game, and that is something that could give them an edge, especially with their two attackers against three defenders.
Alfie May will likely find himself leading the attack again for Cheltenham Town on Saturday on his own, being supported by two players just behind him to add some width.
Sercombe and Charlie Colkett were both brought into the starting XI in midweek as the Robins tweaked their formation slightly, and both men may stay in the side if Duff opts for a 3-4-2-1 once again.
Morecambe possible starting lineup:
Carson; Gibson, Bedeau, Bennett, O'Connor, McLoughlin; Phillips, Wildig, Diagouraga; Connolly, Stockton
Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Evans; Boyle, Pollock, Raglan; Blair, Sercombe, Colkett, Williams; Ramsey, Wright; May
We say: Morecambe 1-1 Cheltenham Town
Morecambe need to start picking up some points in order to fight against relegation, and that is something they have been doing, with several draws taking place.
Considering the fact that Cheltenham Town have been quite inconsistent as of late, this could be another opportunity for the Shrimps to earn a point.
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 Morecambe win with a probability of 45.79%. A win for Cheltenham Town had a probability of 29.14% and a draw had a probability of 25.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Morecambe win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.98%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.25%) and 2-0 (7.77%). The likeliest Cheltenham Town win was 0-1 (7.64%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.88%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 2.8% likelihood.
