Preview: Accrington Stanley vs. Fleetwood Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Fleetwood Town are looking to move to within a point of 20th-placed Morecambe on Saturday, when they make a short trip across the North West to Accrington Stanley.

The home side are currently sitting 14th in League One and ended their five-game winless run in the division last weekend to push them closer towards midtable.

Match preview

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John Coleman's side travelled to face Lincoln one week ago and Colby Bishop managed to make one of Accrington's five shots on target count when he finished in the 55th minute, sealing a 1-0 win for the 'Owd Reds.

However, Accrington enter this weekend's fixture on the back of disappointment in the EFL Trophy as they dropped out of the competition losing 5-4 on penalties against Wigan Athletic.

Accrington have the joint second worst defensive record in League One this season, conceding 36 goals in 19 matches having taken some heavy beatings, including six outings when they have conceded at least three goals.

Fleetwood will be looking to use that to their advantage on Saturday, as they have scored more goals than any other team in the bottom half of League One.

Stephen Crainey, who was promoted to senior head coach in November, has been handed the responsibility of turning Fleetwood's fortunes around, with the Cod Army winless in 10 games across all competitions.

Fleetwood could not progress in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday evening, falling to a 1-0 defeat against Bolton after fielding a young side at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Crainey's side did manage to pick up a point in League One last weekend, with Callum Johnson scoring an 84th-minute equaliser against Wimbledon and that game ended in a 2-2 draw.

Their goalscoring form does not seem to be the problem for Fleetwood, having scored as many goals as fifth-placed Sunderland, but on many occasions they have missed out on points by a fine margin of one goal.

These two sides met just under one month ago in the EFL Trophy group stages and Accrington came out on top with a convincing 4-1 victory, thanks to goals from Harry Pell, Ethan Hamilton, Tommy Leigh and Michael Nottingham.

Team News

Pell is Accrington's top goalscorer with five so far this season and Bishop would have been pleased to score his first goal since the beginning of October last weekend, and the attacking duo are both expected to start on Saturday.

After a positive result against Lincoln, Coleman may opt for the same starting 11, which would see Liam Coyle and Seamus Conneely continue as the midfield pair in the middle of the pitch.

Fleetwood forward Joe Garner was forced off after only 20 minutes against Oxford just over a week ago and he has not featured in the two games since then, potentially missing out again this weekend due to the injury.

Gerard Garner is likely to be the biggest goal threat, having netted his sixth of the campaign against Wimbledon, but left-back Danny Andrew has also enjoyed a high-scoring season having also netted six times for Fleetwood.

The home side will have to be wary of the visitors' full-backs as Andrew has six goals to his name this year and to add to that, right-back Johnson scored his third last weekend.

Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:

Savin; Rodgers, Nottingham, Sykes, Sherring; McConville, Coyle, Conneely, Hamilton; Pell; Bishop

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:

Cairns; Andrew, Holgate, Clarke, Johnson; Matete, Batty, Lane; Morton, Garner, Morris

We say: Accrington Stanley 1-1 Fleetwood Town

Fleetwood are looking to turn their form around and they will be looking to take advantage of Accrington's poor form also to gain another point in League One on Saturday.

Accrington will want to prevent Fleetwood's attack from flourishing having conceded 11 goals in their last four league outings, which may mean a low-scoring game will be played out at the Wham Stadium.