Aiming to further boost their outside playoff chances in the midst of a fine run of form, Northampton Town will welcome Shrewsbury Town to Sixfields on Saturday.
A four-match unbeaten streak has seen the hosts move within nine points of the top six in the League One table, while their visitors sit 20th with just a four-point lead over the bottom four under the new management of Paul Hurst.
Match preview
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Northampton Town head into the weekend in the midst of a fine run of form, having kept any hopes of a top-six finish in League One alive in recent weeks.
Following their promotion from England's fourth tier last time around, Jon Brady's side currently sit ninth with 40 points on the board from their opening 27 outings, having picked up 12 victories alongside 11 defeats.
That tally only stood at 30 points at the halfway stage of the season on Boxing Day, and they have kicked on in impressive fashion since, picking up three victories and a draw from their last four attempts, first beating Lincoln City 2-1 away from home before beginning the new year with a 1-0 triumph at home to Cheltenham Town thanks to Kieran Bowie's goal from the penalty spot.
A meeting with Wigan Athletic followed and ended in a 1-1 draw, before the Cobblers swiftly returned to winning ways on Tuesday, beating Charlton Athletic 3-2 away from home as they were twice pegged back after going ahead through Tyreece Simpson and Sam Hoskins, only for Louis Appere to restore the lead and snatch all three points with the decisive goal in the 97th minute.
Such a result saw Northampton Town narrow the gap to the playoff places to nine points, and while it is certainly only an outside chance of a top-six finish at this stage, they will be keen to keep their hopes alive and further strengthen their standing in the top half of the division with another victory to extend their impressive run this weekend.
Their visitors travel in different circumstances, with Shrewsbury Town keen to return to winning ways and end a slide down the League One table.
From their opening 28 games this term, the Shrews have amassed just 30 points, managing nine victories while suffering 16 defeats, despite sitting 12th with 27 points on the board from 21 outings as their form has since taken a sharp dip.
Indeed, six of the Shropshire outfit's last seven league matches, dating back to mid-December, have ended in defeat, as they firstly suffered four straight losses under Matt Taylor before briefly halting the rut with a 3-1 triumph at home to Fleetwood Town on New Year's Day thanks to goals from Nohan Kenneh, Chey Dunkley and Jordan Shipley.
They have been unable to build on that result since, though, firstly falling to a 1-0 defeat at home to Stevenage before most recently losing 2-1 away at high-flying Peterborough United at the weekend, despite going ahead through Shipley, as Joel Randall levelled the scores before Josh Knight netted the decisive goal 22 minutes from time.
That result spelled the end for Taylor's tenure as manager, and having now turned back to former boss Paul Hurst to lead them forward, Shrewsbury Town will be keen to add to their four-point lead over 21st-placed Reading in the relegation zone, starting with a return to winning ways on Saturday.
Team News
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Northampton Town have deployed the same starting XI for their last two outings, and following the victory away at Charlton on Tuesday, we should again see an unchanged lineup at the weekend in their 4-2-3-1 shape.
Tyreece Simpson will continue to spearhead the front line after netting his fifth goal of the season in that win, while it is winger Sam Hoskins who has again shone in attack for the Cobblers this season, notching up a team-high tally of 14 goals in 25 League One appearances so far this term.
Kieran Bowie and Mitch Pinnock will complete a dangerous supporting trio, while Marc Leonard and Shaun McWilliams will again partner up in the engine room with Jordan Willis and Jon Guthrie bound to continue their centre-back partnership.
We are yet to see how Paul Hurst will line up his new Shrewsbury Town side, but he should not stray too far from the starting XI that featured in the narrow defeat away at Peterborough last time out.
First-choice goalkeeper Marko Marosi was absent for that trip, and if he is not deemed ready to return, Harry Burgoyne should again deputise between the sticks, while Jason Sraha, Chey Dunkley and Morgan Feeney may line up in an unchanged back three in the ongoing absence of Tom Flanagan.
Elsewhere, Nohan Kenneh and Tyler Perry are bound to keep their places in midfield, while Ryan Bowman will hope to come back in from the start and lead the line with support from Tom Bayliss.
Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Burge; McGowan, Willis, Guthrie, Brough; McWilliams, Leonard; Bowie, Pinnock, Hoskins; Simpson
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Burgoyne; Sraha, Dunkley, Feeney; Winchester, Perry, Kenneh, Benning; Bayliss, Bloxham; Bowman
We say: Northampton Town 2-0 Shrewsbury Town
The appointment of Hurst may have a positive impact on the Shrewsbury Town camp as they aim to emerge from a rut, but they meet a Northampton Town team who are full of momentum, and we can only envisage the Cobblers adding to their hot streak with another home victory at the weekend.
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