Two sides chasing promotion to the Championship will square off on Friday, as Wycombe Wanderers welcome Plymouth Argyle to Adams Park.
The visitors find themselves in fourth spot in the League One table with a playoff place firmly in their grasp, while the hosts only sit outside of the top six on goal difference.
Match preview
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After dropping out of the top six due to a difficult run early in the new year, Wycombe Wanderers have boosted their claim for an immediate return to the Championship with an eye-catching upturn in form.
Gareth Ainsworth's side now find themselves in an eight-game unbeaten run, collecting 18 points in the process, having recently posted back-to-back victories over Doncaster Rovers and Cambridge United.
The latter was a 4-1 thrashing on their travels, as Sam Vokes netted a brace alongside goals from Josh Scowen and Garath McCleary to help the Chairboys keep up their pursuit of the top six.
Ainsworth's men most recently travelled to take on strugglers Gillingham, and Vokes gave them the lead, but they were unable to hold on as Jack Tucker levelled in the second half, with the Chairboys eventually holding on for a draw after Lewis Wing's late red card.
That saw them fail to capitalise on Sheffield Wednesday's slip-up and stay seventh, although, with the Owls and Sunderland both only leading on goal difference, the Buckinghamshire outfit could find themselves in the playoff places at the end of Friday if they are able to return to winning ways.
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In their way stand a Plymouth Argyle side in a much more comfortable position in the race for the playoffs, with Steven Schumacher's men having also experienced a fine run of form.
The Pilgrims have taken a similar path to their opponents throughout the campaign, dropping off after a strong start and regaining form in the new year.
On the back of an eye-catching six-game winning run in March, in which they did not concede a single goal, Plymouth rose into fourth spot in England's third tier, and they still hold that position despite a brief blip, having firstly suffered a narrow defeat to playoff-chasing Ipswich Town.
After bouncing back with a win over Oxford United, Schumacher's men were forced to settle for a point away at Burton Albion at the weekend, as neither side were able to break the deadlock, seeing them move onto 78 points from 42 outings as a result.
The Pilgrims now have a clear route into the League One playoffs at the end of the season, with a victory on Friday stretching their lead over seventh place to eight points with three games to play, leaving them needing a single win from the remaining games if they are to leave Adams Park with all three points.
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Team News
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Wycombe will be without midfielder Lewis Wing on Friday, as he is suspended following his red card last weekend.
Elsewhere, key centre-back Anthony Stewart remains out injured, leaving Chris Forino-Joseph to deputise in the back four alongside Ryan Tafazolli.
Experienced forward Sam Vokes should again lead the line, having hit three goals in the last two matches, while wingers Anis Mehmeti and Garath McCleary have both enjoyed productive campaigns and will likely flank the frontman.
Plymouth should not make too many changes to their starting XI after a strong run of results, with the back three of Macauley Gillesphey, James Wilson and Dan Scarr set to remain unchanged.
Competition is particularly rife in the attacking areas, even despite the absence of top scorer Ryan Hardie, with Luke Jephcott battling to displace Jordon Garrick or Niall Ennis.
Creative midfielder Ryan Broom will also be vying for a starting berth, although Panutche Camara, Danny Mayor and Jordan Houghton have all laid strong claims to remain in the team.
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; McCarthy, Tafazolli, Forino-Joseph, Jacobsen; Scowen, Wheeler; Mehmeti, Horgan, McCleary; Vokes
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Wilson, Scarr, Gillesphey; Edwards, Camara, Mayor, Grant; Broom; Jephcott, Ennis
We say: Wycombe Wanderers 1-1 Plymouth Argyle
With both sides in strong form and battling hard for a top-six place, we predict a tight affair and cannot quite pick a winner.
While the hosts have more to do and will be desperate for all three points, the Pilgrims would also benefit hugely from a positive result and should at least take a point.
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 Wycombe Wanderers win with a probability of 47.89%. A win for Plymouth Argyle had a probability of 26.4% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Wycombe Wanderers win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.56%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.27%) and 2-0 (8.78%). The likeliest Plymouth Argyle win was 0-1 (8.05%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.22%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 8.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Wycombe Wanderers would win this match.
