Two of League Two's playoff hopefuls go head to head at Sixfields Stadium on Saturday, with Northampton Town hosting Salford City.
The hosts will be hoping to win for the first time in five matches in order to climb back into the top three, whilst the visitors will be looking to make it back-to-back victories after winning away from home in midweek.
Match preview
© Reuters
Northampton are getting set to face a third fellow promotion hopeful in a row on Saturday, with previous clashes against Forest Green Rovers and Sutton United preceding the welcome of Salford at the weekend.
Jon Brady's side have managed to take a point off both Forest Green and Sutton, with the trip to the latter being their most recent action.
The encounter with Sutton was largely a tight affair with little to choose between the two sides, and despite Craig Eastmond being shown a straight red card for their opponents 16 minutes from time, Northampton could not capitalise to take all three points, eventually settling for a goalless draw.
However, those back-to-back draws mean it is now four games without a win for the Cobblers, after the successive defeats to Swindon Town and Crawley Town had been suffered prior to them.
Four consecutive victories across November and December had Northampton fighting it out in the automatic promotion places, but with the three suspended games over the festive period interrupting and halting that momentum, Saturday's hosts are now left to fight for a playoff place following their recent dip in form.
Although, just two points separate Brady's side in fifth from Newport County in the automatic promotion spots, so a positive result at the weekend, as well as their games in hand on the sides above them, could have Northampton right back in the mix for an immediate return to League One once more.
Meanwhile, Salford head to Sixfields in ninth place, just four points off Swindon and Mansfield Town in the playoff spots as a result of their 2-0 victory over Barrow on Tuesday evening.
An even game of football was played out at Holker Street, but Gary Bowyer's men were clinical in front of goal, as Ashley Hunter's strike on the hour mark, and an own goal in stoppage time, proved to be the difference between the two sides.
The victory was the perfect response from the Ammies, who had previously been humiliated at home to Colchester United last weekend when they fell to a 3-0 defeat.
Consistency remains the issue for Saturday's visitors in their quest for the playoffs though, with back-to-back victories in League Two being achieved just once so far this season.
If they can achieve that for a second time by winning at Northampton at the weekend, it would not only strengthen Salford's playoff hopes against a fellow promotion rival, but would also be their first-ever victory over their opponents in the process.
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- W
Team News
Northampton could look to hand a debut to new loan signing Idris Kanu on Saturday, after the right-winger joined on a temporary deal from Peterborough United on Wednesday.
However, fellow new signing Chanka Zimba is facing six weeks out with a hamstring injury, with the striker being taken off in the draw at Sutton last weekend.
Captain Joseph Mills will remain on the sidelines for the time being as well, with the defender suffering a setback in his latest injury that has kept him out since September.
Meanwhile, Salford will be without backup striker Tom Elliott at the weekend, after he sealed a loan move to Bradford City on Thursday.
Brandon Thomas-Asante serves the final game of his four-match suspension, Ibou Touray is away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations and the influential Josh Morris remains a doubt due to injury.
Matty Willock, Luke Burgess and Ian Henderson all remain sidelined due to respective injuries.
Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Roberts; McGowan, Horsfall, Guthrie, Koiki; Sowerby, McWilliams; Hoskins, Lewis, Pinnock; Rose
Salford City possible starting lineup:
King; Shephard, Eastham, Turnbull, Ndaba; Lund, Lowe; Love, Watson, Hunter; Smith
We say: Northampton Town 1-1 Salford City
There is very little to choose between these two sides heading into their meeting on Saturday, and because of this, we can see them playing out a draw in a tight game.
The hosts are on a poor run of form and the visitors are inconsistent in their performances and results, particularly on their travels, so a draw seems a likely outcome.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Northampton Town win with a probability of 39.35%. A win for Salford City had a probability of 32.59% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Northampton Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.12%) and 2-0 (7.41%). The likeliest Salford City win was 0-1 (10.65%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.15%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 12% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Northampton Town in this match.
