New Year's Day in League One will see Wycombe Wanderers look to end a dismal run of results when they take on Bristol Rovers at Adams Park.
The hosts will start the year in 19th place with 25 points after 23 matches, while the visitors will come into this fixture in ninth place with 34 points over the same period.
Match preview
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Wycombe Wanderers came out on top in the reverse fixture against this opponent back in August courtesy of goals from Joe Low and Garath McCleary and are now aiming for a league double to kick off 2024 on a positive note after enduring a winless conclusion to the calendar year.
The Chairboys extended their winless streak to 12 league games as they played to a goalless draw against Leyton Orient in their last match of 2023 on Friday night.
However, even a 0-0 scoreline arguably flattered Wanderers, who failed to muster a single shot on target, but goalkeeper Max Stryjek played a pivotal role in the outcome by securing a clean sheet for them.
Now, Matt Bloomfield's men face a very real threat of being relegated to League Two as his side sits just five points above the dotted line and is a long way from challenging to returning to the Championship.
One notable aspect of the Chairboys' squad has been the frequent rotation, which has primarily been driven by ongoing issues with injuries, while the team still seems to lack cohesion after making several new player acquisitions last summer.
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Meanwhile, Bristol Rovers finished in a lowly 17th place on their return to League One last season but have navigated the first half of the current campaign well and got themselves into the top 10 before the turn of the year.
The Pirates have made something of a habit of scoring late goals in recent times, and that proved to be the case again on Friday night with Chris Martin coming off the bench to score twice against Charlton Athletic, helping his side to a 2-1 victory.
The decisive goal came in the 94th minute for Matt Taylor's side and marked his side's fourth win in their last five matches, which included a 4-2 win over Crewe Alexandra, which booked their place in the third round of the FA Cup.
Bristol will now turn their focus to Monday's showdown and will see this as the perfect opportunity to avenge their 1-0 loss to this opponent earlier this season and possibly creep a little closer to the playoff spots.
Team News
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Chris Forino returned to the squad for Wycombe on Friday after a brief illness, while Freddie Potts made his long-awaited comeback and will be in contention to feature again this week.
However, the hosts do still have a lengthy casualty list with Jason McCarthy, Brandon Hanlan, Tjay De Barr, Jasper Pattenden and Declan Skura still sidelined through injury.
Chris Martin will be hoping that his heroics will earn him a place in the starting 11 for this match, with John Marquis being the most likely to drop to the bench.
Midfielder Jordan Rossiter continues to be sidelined but is making progress in his recovery from a long-term knee issue, although Antony Evans and Sam Finley have performed well in the Bristol engine room and should make up the central pairing again in this one.
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Grimmer, Low, Tafazolli, Leahy; Scowen, Potts; McCleary, Phillips, Sadlier; Taylor
Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:
Cox; Wilson, Taylor, Crama; Thomas, Evans, Finley, Vale, Gard; Martin, Collins
We say: Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Bristol Rovers
Wycombe Wanderers are in real danger of getting sucked into the relegation scrap unless they are able to turn things around in the New Year. However, they will be up against it here, with Bristol Rovers coming into the match with solid momentum following back-to-back victories. This should be a good contest but we fancy the visitors to edge the result by the odd goal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
