Shrewsbury Town will be looking to return to winning ways in League One when they continue their campaign away to AFC Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon.
The home side are currently 20th in the table, just one point outside the relegation zone, while Shrewsbury occupy 17th position, three points above their opponents this weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Wimbledon finished 19th in League One last season, so it is not too much of a surprise to see them towards the bottom of the division once again, boasting just 28 points at this stage of the campaign.
Mark Robinson's side have at least one game in hand on the majority of the teams around them, though, and two matches spare on Shrewsbury, so they are not in a disastrous position despite only one point separating them from 21st-placed Morecambe entering the next set of fixtures.
Wimbledon are without a victory in the league since winning at Accrington Stanley at the start of December, losing three and drawing four of their last seven matches at this level of football.
The Dons drew three straight games against Morecambe, Portsmouth and Burton Albion between January 15 and January 22 before suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Ipswich Town on Tuesday night.
Wimbledon have struggled in front of their own supporters this season, meanwhile, picking up just 13 points from their 12 matches, which is the third-worst home record in the division behind Gillingham and Lincoln City.
© Reuters
Shrewsbury, meanwhile, will enter this contest off the back of a goalless draw with Gillingham on Tuesday night, which left them in 17th position in the table, four points clear of the relegation zone.
The Blues, who finished 17th in the third tier last season, have only actually lost one of their last seven in the league, which came at home to Bolton Wanderers on January 22.
A strong end to December saw them beat Cheltenham Town and Fleetwood Town before picking up a point at home to Accrington Stanley, while they opened 2022 with a 1-0 success over Sheffield Wednesday.
Steve Cotterill's side, who lost 4-1 at Liverpool in the FA Cup on January 9, are now without a victory in their last three in the league but should enter this match in good confidence considering their recent run of form.
That said, while Wimbledon have struggled at home, Shrewsbury have found it difficult to pick up positive results on their travels, collecting only seven points from 14 matches away from home.
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- D
- L
- D
- D
- W
- L
- D
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Wimbledon boss Robinson has no fresh injury concerns following the home defeat to Ipswich, but it would not be a surprise to see changes in their starting XI for this match.
Indeed, Anthony Hartigan and Terry Ablade are both in contention to come into the side, although Aaron Cosgrave is expected to retain his spot at centre-forward for the hosts.
Jack Rudoni has been Wimbledon's standout player in League One this season in terms of attacking output, netting seven times, and the 21-year-old will again feature in a wide area for the Dons.
As for Shrewsbury, head coach Cotterill said that he could have made nine half-time changes against Gillingham, having been unhappy with his team's first-half performance.
New signings Saikou Janneh and Tyrese Fornah came off the bench in the goalless draw and could now be in contention for starting roles, while Aaron Pierre is expected to replace Nathanael Ogbeta.
There are unlikely to be alterations in the final third of the field, though, with Ryan Bowman and Dominic Udoh set to continue as the front two for the away side.
AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:
Tzanev; Osew, Heneghan, Csoka, Guinness-Walker; McCormick, Marsh; Hartigan, Assal, Rudoni; Cosgrave
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Pennington, Ebanks-Landell, Nurse; Bennett, Vela, Davis, Leahy, Pierre; Bowman, Udoh
We say: AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
Wimbledon have struggled at home this season, while Shrewsbury have found it difficult to pick up positive results on their travels, so it is tough to call this match. Neither manager would be too pleased with a point, but we are finding it hard to separate them and have therefore settled on a low-scoring draw.
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 AFC Wimbledon win with a probability of 36.67%. A win for Shrewsbury Town had a probability of 34.76% and a draw had a probability of 28.6%.
The most likely scoreline for an AFC Wimbledon win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.68%) and 2-0 (6.88%). The likeliest Shrewsbury Town win was 0-1 (11.51%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.3%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.
