Shrewsbury Town and Fleetwood Town will face off in their second consecutive New Year's Day battle when they meet at the Croud Meadow on Monday afternoon.
The hosts will head into the match in 17th place in the League One standings, with 27 points after 25 matches, while the visitors are second bottom, having only managed 18 points in 23 games.
Match preview
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After a forgettable run of results during the 2023 festive season, Shrewsbury will be hoping to start 2024 on a positive note when they face a struggling Fleetwood Town on Monday.
The Shrews failed to win any of their last four league games between December 16 and the end of the year, suffering defeats to Portsmouth, Peterborough United, Cheltenham Town and Burton Albion in quick succession.
Last time out, Matthew Taylor's team were unable to find a response to an early first-half goal from a managerless Brewers side and slumped to a 1-0 defeat, marking their third match in their last four where they did not trouble the scoreline.
Town have now managed only 14 goals in league competition and are the joint-lowest scoring team in the division along with relegation candidates Exeter City.
Still, the hosts will head into this match with confidence as they emerged victorious with a 1-0 win against this opponent in the reverse fixture back in August at Highbury Stadium.
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Meanwhile, after securing a solid mid-table finish in the 2022-23 season, Fleetwood have fallen a long way this term and are just one point above bottom club Carlisle United at the halfway point of the season.
The Cod Army have posted a record of four wins, six draws and 13 losses to date and will come into this fixture following a 2-0 home defeat against Bolton Wanderers last Friday.
That result marked Fleetwood's seventh consecutive league match without a win while they have failed to taste victory in their last nine in all competitions, including seven losses and just two draws.
Following that defeat, the club took the decision to sack manager Lee Johnson, meaning that the 42-year-old has now received the axe by two separate clubs in the first half of the season, having also been sacked by Hibernian back in August.
The visitors are in desperate need of a positive result here to lift the mood around the team, but they have struggled on the road of late, failing to win any of their last four away league games while conceding two or more goals in three of those matches.
Team News
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The Shrews have been struggling with injuries this season and were dealt another blow this week with striker Dan Udoh ruled out for up to six weeks with a knee injury.
The Luton Town loanee joins the likes of Elliot Thorp, Morgan Feeney, Ryan Finnigan, Kieran Phillips and George Nurse on the treatment table.
Taylor Perry and Jason Sraha have continued their recoveries and could return to the squad for this match but are likely to only make the bench after failing to feature last time out.
Winger Junior Quitirna made his return for Fleetwood in their 1-1 draw against Carlisle a couple of weeks ago, and he should be in line for selection again in this one.
Jayden Stockley scored the Cods' only goal that day and should keep his place in the front three alongside Quitirna and Phoenix Patterson.
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Pierre, Dunkley, Anderson; Sobowale, Bennett, Kenneh, Benning; Perry, Mata, Shipley
Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:
Lynch; Lawal, Heneghan, Holgate, Earl; Asamoah, Sarpong-Wiredu, Johnston, Patterson; Quitirna, Stockley
We say: Shrewsbury Town 1-0 Fleetwood Town
While both teams are a long way from their best coming into this match, Shrewsbury have maintained a decent home record this season. The Shrews also managed a good win in the reverse fixture, and we fancy them to take the points in this one as well.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
