Two sides at contrasting ends of the League Two table go head to head as 22nd-placed Stevenage and second-placed Northampton Town lock horns at the Lamex Stadium on Tuesday.
The hosts will head into the game desperate to get one over the Cobblers having failed to win any of the last eight meetings between the sides since a 2-1 victory back in 2015.
Match preview
© Reuters
Stevenage were left empty-handed once again in the League Two as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Newport County when the sides met last Saturday.
Following an uneventful first half, the game sparked into life two minutes after the interval when Crystal Palace loanee Robert Street opened the scoring before Ryan Haynes made sure of the result 23 minutes later.
Paul Tisdale's side have now failed to win any of their last eight games, picking up three draws and losing five since a 3-0 victory over Harrogate Town on January 29.
With 34 points from 36 games, Stevenage are currently 22nd in the League One standings, level on points with 21st-placed Barrow and three above relegation strugglers Oldham Athletic, who have two games in hand.
Their poor campaign so far has been owing to their struggles at both ends of the pitch, particularly in defence where they boast the division's second-worst record with 56 goals conceded, while scoring just 32 at the opposite end of the pitch.
Northampton Town, on the other hand, were sent crashing back down to earth last time out when they fell to a 2-1 loss against a rejuvenated Carlisle United at the Brunton Park.
After Paul Lewis netted in the 79th minute to cancel out Tobi Sho-Silva's opener, 24-year-old Jordan Gibson was calm under pressure as he converted his 94th-minute penalty to hand the Blues a fourth consecutive win.
Prior to that, Jon Brady's men ended their three-match winless run on March 5 when they claimed a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Tranmere Rovers at the Sixfields Stadium.
Northampton Town have now won 17, drawn nine and lost 10 of their 36 League Two games to collect 60 points and sit second in the standings, eight points adrift of first-place Forest Green Rovers.
The Cobblers will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways and closing the gap on the Rovers as they face an opposing side who they are unbeaten against in each of the last eight meetings between the teams since 2015, including five straight wins from their most recent five encounters.
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- L
- D
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Stevenage will take to the pitch without the services of 28-year-old midfielder Jake Reeves, who has been sidelined since picking up an injury in the game against Tranmere Rovers on February 1.
He is joined on the Boro's injury table by fellow midfielder Michael Bostwick as the 33-year-old is set to sit out his fourth game on the bounce through injury.
Meanwhile, 26-year-old defender Sid Nelson remains out of contention for Northampton Town as he continues his long journey to full fitness after sustaining a severe injury last August.
Other than that, the Cobblers head into Tuesday's game with a clean bill of health, giving Brady the luxury of a relatively full strength squad at his disposal once again.
With six goals and 12 assists to his name this season, Mitchell Pinnock has been instrumental in Northampton Town's solid campaign so far and the midfielder will certainly be one to keep an eye out for.
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
Pym; O'Neill, Prosser, Cuthbert, James-Wildin; Westbrooke, Vancooten, Upson; Taylor, Norris, Reid
Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Roberts; McGowan, Horsfall, Guthrie, Koiki; Sowerby, McWilliams; Hoskins, Lewis, Pinnock; Appere
We say: Stevenage 0-2 Northampton Town
With 10 games to the end of the season, both sides find themselves at opposite ends of the league standings, with Northampton Town being the superior side. Looking at the gulf in class and quality between the two sides and the recent history of this fixture, we are tipping the Cobblers to come away with all three points unscathed.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
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 Northampton Town win with a probability of 42.43%. A win for Stevenage had a probability of 29.59% and a draw had a probability of 28%.
The most likely scoreline for a Northampton Town win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.4%) and 0-2 (8.2%). The likeliest Stevenage win was 1-0 (10.16%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.07%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Northampton Town would win this match.
