Preview: Hartlepool United vs. Tranmere Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

Four consecutive wins without conceding a goal sees Tranmere Rovers in a confident mood ahead of their encounter with Hartlepool United at Victoria Park on Wednesday.

One of League Two's form teams, the visitors will be met by a home side who have followed up a rare hot streak of three league and cup victories with just a point from their last two outings.

Match preview

© Reuters

Even a late outbreak of COVID-19 cases just before Christmas could not derail Tranmere at the weekend, as they continued their push for promotion back to the third tier after several years in the doldrums.

Rovers netted at either end of their 2-0 win over Barrow on Boxing Day, and fired themselves into League Two's top three - one of the automatic promotion places.

Micky Mellon's side went ahead through Nicky Maynard early on, after he latched on to a Jay Spearing free-kick to slot home the opener, before Kieron Morris wrapped up all three points in the 85th minute.

As a result, the Birkenhead outfit have won five of their last six league matches and now sit just two points behind second-placed Northampton, having played a game more.

Boasting the meanest defence in the division, which has only conceded 14 times all season, Tranmere now take on a team that have already leaked more than twice as many, and who they beat 1-0 in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

That defeat was one of 11 so far for Hartlepool - exactly half of their games - and a second-half collapse on Sunday saw them not only let a precious three points slip through their fingers, but also concede three more goals in the process. Their trip to in-form Mansfield on Boxing Day ended with the hosts fighting back from a two-goal deficit to win 3-2. United had gone 2-0 up shortly after the break, when Nicky Featherstone struck from 20 yards, but just four minutes later John-Joe O'Toole headed home to start a dramatic revival.

Further goals on 62 and 66 minutes helped Nigel Clough's men turn the game completely on its head, and a stoppage-time 'equaliser' from Hartlepool substitute Gavan Holohan was later ruled out by the offside flag.

Graeme Lee therefore tasted defeat for the first time since his appointment at the start of the month, but the Pools boss will want his side to quickly bounce back on home soil.

Lee recently stated an aim to freshen up his squad during the January transfer window, so several players will effectively be playing for their futures on Wednesday and in the upcoming game with Oldham - the second of four successive matches to be held at Victoria Park.

Team News

© Reuters

Ahead of Wednesday's game, Tranmere have several men missing, including Paul Glatzel - on loan from Liverpool, and the scorer of four goals in his last four appearances for the club - and Nathaniel Knight-Percival, who both remain sidelined by injury. Meanwhile, winger Callum McManaman serves the third game of a three-match ban, and manager Micky Mellon must also cope without some unnamed members of the squad who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Nicky Maynard features up front following his first league goal for the club - his four previous strikes had all been in the EFL Trophy - and Celtic loanee Ross Doohan starts in goal after keeping a fourth consecutive League Two clean sheet.

Pools, by contrast, have a virtually full squad to choose from, and amid a busy festive schedule rotation may be considered.

Having been denied a last-gasp equaliser by a marginal offside call on Sunday, Gavan Holohan will be keen to start, though he faces competition from Mark Shelton, Tom Crawford and Matty Daly for a place in the hosts' midfield.

Hartlepool United possible starting lineup:

Killip; Sterry, Byrne, Liddle, Odusina, Shelton; Featherstone, Byrne, Daly; Cullen, Molyneux

Tranmere Rovers possible starting lineup:

Doohan; Lee, Clarke, Davies, MacDonald; Morris, Foley, Spearing, Feeney; Nevitt, Maynard

We say: Hartlepool United 0-2 Tranmere Rovers

Tranmere's squad may be down a few men ahead of the trip to the North East, but their defensive discipline means that Pools should have few opportunities to find the net.

For that reason, the visitors are poised to pick up yet another three-point haul on Wednesday evening, keeping their drive for an automatic promotion spot firmly on track heading into the new year.