Preview: Wycombe Wanderers vs Stevenage - prediction, team news, lineups

Wycombe Wanderers welcome Stevenage to Adams Park on Friday evening for their meeting in the first round of the 2026-27 EFL Cup campaign.

In their final pre-season fixture, the Chairboys fell to a 2-1 defeat against Premier League outfit Ipswich Town, while the Boro beat Colchester United 1-0 at Lamex Stadium.

Match preview

After finishing in the playoff places at the conclusion of the regular 2024-25 League One season, Wycombe will be extremely disappointed with how their most recent campaign panned out.

Battling amongst the top half of the division for the majority of the season, the Chairboys suffered from a poor finish to the campaign, picking up just 10 points in their final 11 games to leave them 11th in the table and a significant 12 points below the play off places.

However, one resounding positive that Michael Duff’s men can take from last season is their performance in the EFL Cup, with the Buckinghamshire outfit dispatching Leyton Orient, Bromley and Wigan before agonisingly losing to Premier League side Fulham on penalties in the fourth round.

Looking to replicate or better that feat this time around, Wycombe will be motivated by the outcome when they last hosted Stevenage, claiming a 3-1 victory at Adams Park in February.

Experiencing the opposite of the Chairboys, Stevenage followed up a mediocre 2024-25 League One campaign, in which they finished 14th and a huge 21 points from the playoffs, by battling their way into the top six come May last season.

Fending off a late promotion push from both Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle, the Boro faced Stockport County in the playoff semi-final, however fell short of a first visit to Wembley since 2009, losing 3-0 on aggregate over the two legs.

While they somewhat thrived in their league endeavours, Alex Revell’s men were underwhelming in the EFL Cup, losing 3-1 to Championship side Charlton Athletic in the first round, making it back-to-back competition eliminations at that stage.

In order to rectify that streak and progress to the second round of the tournament, Stevenage are tasked with beating Wycombe on Friday evening at Adams Park, a stadium that they last claimed victory at in 2023 courtesy of a Jamie Reid goal on the stroke of half time.

Wycombe Wanderers pre-season form:

Stevenage pre-season form:

Team News

Signing for the club from Colchester in July, Wycombe goalkeeper Matt Macey is set to be out for an extended period and requires surgery after sustaining an ACL injury against Yeovil Town.

After suffering a gash to the shin against Ipswich, it remains to be seen whether midfielder Josh Scowen will feature on Friday, while Anders Hagelskjaer and Dan Casey are nearing a return to full fitness.

Following a successful loan stint from Luton, the Chairboys this summer signed Cauley Woodrow, who is expected to start alongside new recruits Steve Cook and Silko Thomas.

On the other hand, Stevenage go into their first competitive match of the season with a fully fit squad and will be happy to have recently welcomed Luther James-Wildin back from injury.

With Josh Magennis, Terry Taylor and Oliver Sanderson all arriving on free transfers, Revell will certainly have a fight for positions amongst the Boro squad as they prepare for yet another promotion push in the 2026-27 League One campaign.

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Hazard; Hagelskjaer, Cook, Taylor, Harvie; Parker, Scowen, Boyd-Munce; Texgel, Woodrow, Thomas

Stevenage possible starting lineup:

Marschall; James-Wildin, Freestone, Houghton, Piergianni; Phillips, Pattenden, Kemp; Roberts, Reid, Patterson

We say: Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Stevenage

Having disappointed in the league last season, Wycombe will undoubtedly want to kick their campaign off in fine fashion by beginning another memorable run in the EFL Cup.

Although Stevenage arguably had better results in their preparation matches, we are backing the Chairboys to make home advantage count on Friday night and progress to the second round for the sixth consecutive season.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.