A place in the 2022-23 EFL Trophy final will be up for grabs when Plymouth Argyle and Cheltenham Town go head to head at Home Park on Tuesday.
Steven Schumacher's men, who are unbeaten in each of their last seven home matches across all competitions, will head into the midweek matchup looking to secure a fifth straight victory over the visitors.
Match preview
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Having secured a first-placed finish in the Southern Group E table of the EFL Trophy, Plymouth Argyle kicked off their knockout-stage campaign in style as they picked up a 3-2 victory over Charlton Athletic on November 22.
The Pilgrims turned in a performance of the highest quality in their third-round clash against AFC Wimbledon on December 21, when they overturned a three-goal first-half deficit to force a 3-3 draw in normal time before seeing off the Dons 4-3 on penalties.
Newly-signed striker Ben Waine announced his arrival in front of the home fans as he opened the scoring against Bristol Rovers in the quarter-finals on January 10 before Ryan Hardie netted his third of the cup campaign to make sure of the result.
Plymouth Argyle's impressive cup run has been in keeping with their performances in League One, where they are currently second in the table, eight points above Ipswich Town outside the automatic promotion places.
Schumacher's side head into Tuesday fresh off the back of a somewhat disappointing goalless draw against 16th-placed Fleetwood Town — a result which saw them fall behind first-placed Sheffield Wednesday on goal difference.
However, Plymouth Argyle will be backing themselves to return to winning ways and book their spot in the cup final as they take on a Cheltenham Town side against whom they are on a four-game winning streak and are unbeaten in 14 of their last 19 meetings since October 2010.
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Cheltenham's EFL Trophy journey has been a relatively rough one as they finished second in the Southern Group C table — edging out third-placed West Ham United Under-21s on goal difference — before needing penalties to see off Forest Green Rovers in their first knockout-stage fixture on November 22.
Since the victory over Forest Green though, a run of two comfortable victories has sparked fresh belief as the Robins thrashed Chelsea U21s 4-0 on December 13 before claiming a 3-1 win over Salford City in their quarter-final clash on January 10.
While Cheltenham Town are making a charge for the EFL Trophy crown, their form in League One is currently nothing to write home about as they have managed just one league win since the start of the year.
Since a 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town on December 29, Wade Elliott's men have picked up five points from a possible 24, while losing six matches in that time, including Saturday's 4-0 humbling at the hands of Barnsley on home soil.
Cheltenham Town have picked up nine wins, six draws and lost 16 of their 31 league matches to collect 33 points and sit 19th in the League One table, just four points above 21st-placed Milton Keynes Dons in the relegation zone.
While they will be looking to stop the rot and end their losing streak in Tuesday's fixture, they journey to Home Park where Plymouth are unbeaten in seven consecutive matches, claiming six wins and one draw since December's 2-0 loss to Port Vale.
Team News
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Plymouth will take to the pitch without goalkeeper Michael Cooper, who has missed each of the last three games through a cruciate ligament injury.
Sam Cosgrove, who has eight goals and two assists in the league, started off the bench against Fleetwood at the weekend, but the Birmingham City loanee should come into the XI for Tuesday's crunch tie, leaving Callum Wright sweating over his place in the front three.
At the defensive end of the pitch, we expect an unchanged back three of Nigel Lonwijk, James Wilson and Macauley Gillesphey for the fourth game on the bounce, with Callum Burton starting between the sticks.
Meanwhile, Cheltenham remain without the defensive trio of Lewis Freestone, Benjamin Williams and Thomas Bradbury, who are all recuperating from injuries.
Irish defender Glen Rea, who joined the Robins in January, awaits his debut as he continues his rehabilitation from a knee injury that has kept him sidelined since last March.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Burton; Lonwijk, Wilson, Gillesphey; Mumba, Matete, Butcher, Earley; Azaz, Cosgrove, Hardie
Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Southwood; Long, Taylor, Raglan; Jackson, Bonds, Sercombe, Perry, Broom; May, Brown
We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Cheltenham Town
Comparing both past results and the contrasting form between the sides, Plymouth are firm favourites to come away with the desired results. The Pilgrims have been near impenetrable on home turf this season and we are backing them to come out victorious on Tuesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
