Two sides aiming for a strong close to the year lock horns in round 22 of the League Two as Tranmere Rovers and Accrington Stanley go head to head at Prenton Park on Boxing Day.
With two games left to go in 2024, both teams find themselves separated by just two points and three places at the bottom end of the standings and will head into Thursday's clash in search of a pick-me-up.
Match preview
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Tranmere Rovers were sent crashing back down to earth in the League Two as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Doncaster Rovers when the two sides squared off at the Eco-Power Stadium last Saturday.
In a game where Ben Davies received his marching orders, Joseph Olowu, Patrick Kelly and substitute Kyle Hurst all found the back of the net to put Doncaster in a commanding lead before Sol Solomon pulled one back with an 83rd-minute strike.
This came just one week after Tranmere snapped their run of five back-to-back games without a win across all competitions courtesy of a 2-1 home victory over Harrogate Town thanks to goals from Kristian Dennis and Omari Patrick.
Nigel Adkins's men have now lost nine of their 20 League Two games so far while picking up five wins and six draws to collect 21 points and sit 19th in the table, but could move into 17th place with all three points on Thursday.
Tranmere's underwhelming first half of the season has been owing to their struggles in attack, where they have netted just 15 league goals so far — the division's joint-fewest tally — while they have shipped 29 at the opposite end of the pitch.
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Like their Boxing Day host, it has been a turbulent first half of the season for Accrington Stanley as they find themselves hovering just above the danger zone heading into the final two games of the year.
Having secured a 17th-placed finish last season, John Doolan's side have picked up just 19 points from their 20 League Two games to sit 22nd in the table, just four points and one place above 23rd-placed Carlisle United in the second relegation spot.
Accrington's struggles has been in no small part down to their defensive frailty as they have conceded the second most goals in the league (36) while keeping just three clean sheets — only Morecambe (1) have managed fewer.
This was highlighted last Saturday when they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Salford City at the Wham Stadium after Haji Mnoga and Cole Stockton netted second-half goals to hand the Ammies their eighth league win of the campaign.
With last weekend's defeat, Accrington are now six straight league games without a win, losing three and claiming three draws, and have managed just one victory from nine games since picking up three back-to-back wins in October.
While Doolan's men will be looking to stop the rot on Thursday, they face the stern challenge of an opposing side who are unbeaten in 14 of their last 16 encounters, picking up 11 wins and three draws since September 2008.
Team News
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Tranmere will have to cope without the services of 32-year-old defender Davies, who is suspended after picking up a red card against Doncaster last time out.
In his absence, Declan Drysdale will push for a place in the XI, teaming up with Lee O'Connor, Jordan Turnbull and 28-year-old Connor Wood in the back four, with Luke McGee starting in goal once again.
On the injury front, Tranmere remain without the midfield trio of Brad Walker, Regan Hendry and Saidou Khan, who continue their spells on the sidelines, while 31-year-old forward Luke Norris is set to sit out his seventh straight game.
As for Accrington, the defensive duo of Jake Batty and Jay Rich-Baghuelou have been ruled out through injuries while midfielder Dan Martin continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines since picking up a severe injury back in August.
Sebastian Quirk has been out of action since coming off injured against Notts County back in September while 25-year-old forward Kelsey Mooney is also out of contention for the Boxing Day matchup.
Tranmere Rovers possible starting lineup:
McGee; O'Connor, Drysdale, Turnbull, Wood; Finley, Merrie; Dennis, Jennings, Patrick; Saunders
Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:
Crellin; Aljofree, Rawson, Love; O'Brien, Woods, Coyle, Khumbeni; Whalley, Walton, Costelloe
We say: Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Accrington Stanley
With just two points separating Tranmere and Accrington at the wrong end of the table, we expect both sides to go all out in search of a morale-boosting result as they look to gather momentum ahead of the new year. Adkins's men have won their most recent four home games against Accrington and we are backing them to come away with all three points once again, albeit by the odd goal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
