Northampton Town will be hoping to bring an end to a wretched run of results in League One when they take on Burton Albion at Sixfields Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts have managed a total of 14 points from their 15 matches so far and are down in 20th place in the league standings, while the visitors are six places above them with 20 points.
Match preview
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Northampton Town have endured a difficult few years that has seen them promoted and relegated with regularity, and based on their performances in this campaign, they look set to battle the drop again this term unless they can find some form of consistency.
They are already teetering on the edge of the drop zone, currently level on points with Carlisle United and one ahead of Fleetwood Town, who are the first two sides below the dotted line as it stands.
The Cobblers lost their last league match 4-0 away to Derby County, extending their recent winless run to five consecutive matches, which included four losses and a solitary draw against Leyton Orient at home.
An under-pressure Jon Brady also saw his side beaten 3-1 by lower-league outfit Barrow last weekend, which ended their FA Cup hopes and marked their third loss on the trot in all competitions.
Notably, all four of their league losses in October came on the road, while they avoided defeat in their two home games in the month, claiming four points from their matches against Reading and Leyton Orient.
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Meanwhile, Burton Albion made a very poor start to the 2023-24 League One season as they failed to win any of their first seven matches, claiming just two points in that time while suffering five defeats.
However, since overcoming Port Vale in mid-August, the Brewers showed major improvement and put together a run of seven matches unbeaten, including five wins and two draws.
The visitors played out a 0-0 draw at home to the O's in their last league match, leaving them as one of four sides in the mid-table on 20 points and just six points behind Stevenage and the playoff spots.
Like their opponents, Burton also experienced cup disappointment in recent weeks, with a stalemate against Port Vale in the FA Cup and losing 2-1 to Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Trophy in midweek.
Dino Maamria will be relatively pleased with his side's return to this point but will be looking to improve their attacking output, having only scored 12 goals so far this season, which is the third-lowest tally of any team in the division with only Cheltenham (six) and Shrewsbury (seven) faring worse.
Team News
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Northampton are likely to be without the services of their skipper Jon Guthrie, who is set to miss his sixth league match as he has not fully recovered from a hamstring injury.
Tyler Magloire and Danny Hylton are the other players sidelined, while Jack Sowerby could be brought back into the starting 11 after coming off the bench in the last two matches following his injury setback.
Maamria has a full squad at his disposal, with Steve Seddon shaking off the knock he picked up against Carlisle and playing the full 90 against Doncaster in the week.
Congolese attacker Beryly Lubala came off the bench to score The Brewers' only goal in midweek and could start in attack, while Joe Powell should return to the midfield after being rested in the last match.
Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Thompson; Sherring, Odimayo, Monthe, Brough; Hoskins, Leonard, Pinnock, McWilliams, Koiki; Simpson
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Caprice, Moon, Sweeney, Seddon; Powell, Walker, Oshilaja, Helm, Carayol; Lubala
We say: Northampton Town 1-1 Burton Albion
This looks like a very even contest that both sides will feel they can win but would rather not lose. We are expecting a tight match here and feel that these sides will not be separated after 90 minutes.
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Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
