Wycombe Wanderers play host to Blackburn Rovers on Friday afternoon sitting 11 points adrift of safety in the Championship standings.
While Blackburn are the same amount of points above the bottom three, the visitors have failed to win their last four fixtures in the second tier.
Match preview
© Reuters
The goalless draw between Coventry City and Wycombe before the international break satisfied neither side as they bid to avoid an immediate return to League One.
However, the stalemate at St Andrew's has left Wycombe realistically requiring at least six wins from their final eight matches, a monumental task when it took 36 fixtures to achieve that many victories this season.
Gareth Ainsworth and his squad will continue to fight while they can mathematically survive in this division, particularly when rivals Rotherham United are to come in the following game.
Nevertheless, Wycombe's final five games are against teams all sitting in the top half of the table, strengthening the feeling that they are now only playing for pride.
© Reuters
The same can be said of a faltering Blackburn team who have gone from dark horses for the playoffs to an outfit desperate for the season to reach a conclusion.
Despite claiming a share of the spoils away at Norwich City last time out, just one win and four draws have been recorded from their most recent 12 contests.
Two victories from their final eight outings should be enough to guarantee their spot in the Championship for another 12 months, but far more was expected from Tony Mowbray during his fourth full season in charge.
While the 57-year-old will now be happy with a mid-table finish, he can have few complaints if the powers-that-be decide on a change in the dugout in the summer.
Rovers recorded their biggest win on the season in the reverse fixture, powering to a 5-0 triumph on the second weekend of the campaign.
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- L
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Fred Onyedinma, Daryl Horgan and Garath McCleary are all pushing for a recall to the Wycombe XI.
Scott Kashket may also be considered for a starting spot, but Adebayo Akinfenwa is expected to remain among the replacements.
As for Blackburn, Adam Armstrong is in line to return from a hamstring injury after no risks were taken on the forward before the international break.
Harvey Elliott and Sam Gallagher combined for Blackburn's equaliser at Carrow Road, putting them each in line for a recall.
Barring any fitness issues, the remainder of the team could remain the same after their performance versus the league leaders.
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; McCarthy, Stewart, Tafazolli, Jacobson; Gape, Knight; Onyedinma, Horgan, McCleary; Ikpeazu
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Rankin-Costello, Lenihan, Harwood-Bellis, Douglas; Holtby, Evans, Rothwell; Elliott, Armstrong, Gallagher
We say: Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
With draws no good to Wycombe at this stage, expect an attack-minded approach from the home side. Nevertheless, Rovers have more quality in the final third, and we are backing the visitors to claim all three points at Adams Park.
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 Blackburn Rovers win with a probability of 55.83%. A draw had a probability of 24.7% and a win for Wycombe Wanderers had a probability of 19.49%.
The most likely scoreline for a Blackburn Rovers win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.67%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (11.13%) and 1-2 (9.45%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.6%), while for a Wycombe Wanderers win it was 1-0 (7.13%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood.
