Cheltenham Town will continue their fight to avoid the drop in League One when they face off against Shrewsbury Town at Completely-Suzuki Stadium on Boxing Day.
The hosts are at the foot of the league standings, currently on 16 points after 21 matches, while the visitors are in 14th place with 27 points, though they have played two matches more than their opponents.
Match preview
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After managing a solid mid-table finish in League One last season, Cheltenham got the 2023-24 campaign started in the worst way possible and have been stuck at the bottom of the pack since August.
The Robins recorded four consecutive losses in their first four matches this season and failed to win a single match in their first 15 in all competitions.
That run led to the dismissal of Wade Elliot after 14 months in charge, with Darrell Clarke being appointed as his successor on October 1, just 10 days after the former's departure.
However, that also marked something of a turning point for Cheltenham as they claimed their first win of the season under the new manager directly after the October international break and have only lost three in their last 10 league games since then.
Last weekend, Cheltenham put on a resilient display to claim a crucial 1-0 win away to second-bottom Carlisle United, and the feeling around the camp will be much more positive now that they are just three points from safety.
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Meanwhile, Shrewsbury Town will head into this match aiming to avoid a third consecutive league defeat following losses to Portsmouth and Peterborough United in the last two weeks.
Against the Posh at the weekend, Shrewsbury took the lead through a Jordan Shipley goal just before the hour mark but were unable to hang on to their lead as Ricky-Jade Jones and Hector Kyprianou found the net for Darren Ferguson's side in quick succession 10 minutes before the end.
The major issue for the Shrews this season has undoubtedly been their attacking output as they have only managed to find the net 14 times this season, which is the second-lowest in the league, with only their opponents in this match and Exeter City faring worse with 13 apiece.
Matthew Taylor's side have struggled on the road this season, winning just two of their 11 matches while they have only managed to score three away goals this term.
Team News
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The Robins will be able to welcome back Ben Williams for this match after he was forced to sit out their away win to Carlisle due to the red card he received a week earlier.
Will Goodwin was taken off just five into the game last week due to injury and is likely to miss out here, with George Lloyd being the most likely to replace him in the starting 11.
Shrewsbury's luck with injuries has been abject this season, and it became worse over the weekend when Aaron Pierre went off with what seemed to be a hamstring injury.
Pierre is expected to miss this encounter, which should allow Morgan Feeney to return to the starting 11, and he will likely form the defensive trio alongside Chey Dunkley and Joe Anderson.
Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Southwood; Smith, Bradbury, Freestone; Long, Pett, Bonds, Ferry; Street, Lloyd, Sercombe
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Dunkley, Feeney, Anderson; Bennett, Winchester, Kenneh, Shipley; Perry, Udoh, Bowman
We say: Cheltenham Town 1-1 Shrewsbury Town
Cheltenham have looked much better under the guidance of Darrell Clarke and come into this one, having only lost one of their last five home league games. The Shrews are missing a few key players, and that has shown in their performances of late with back-to-back losses in their last two outings.
With these sides currently possessing the two of worst attacking records in the league this season, chances will likely be at a premium, and we feel there will be nothing to separate them at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
