Wycombe Wanderers travel to Barnet on Saturday for an FA Cup first round tie.
The magic of the cup has thrown up an intriguing clash between the runaway leaders of the Conference and the Chairboys who currently occupy pole-position in League Two.
The Bees are 9 points clear at the top in their quest for promotion back to the Football League following the heartbreak of their relegation on the final day of the season in April 2013.
In his fourth spell as Barnet manager, Martin Allen has moulded a formidable side that has scored the most and conceded the fewest number of goals in the Conference.
In 21 games in all competitions, the Bees have scored an impressive 47 goals and conceded only 15.
Well known to Wycombe fans, big John Akinde leads the Bees’ scoring charts with 12, while former QPR winger Lee Cook and Spaniard Luis Manuel Villa López have chipped in with 8 goals apiece.
To reach the first round proper, Allen’s side beat Chelmsford City 4-1 in a replay at the Hive following a 0-0 draw in Essex.
To add further spice to Saturday’s clash, Barnet have just appointed former Wycombe manager Gary Waddock to their coaching staff, although he was already in the background when the Bees lost 1-0 to the Chairboys in a pre-season friendly just three months ago.
Only one Waddock signing (Sam Wood) remained in the Wycombe side that won 2-1 at Oxford United last Saturday to lift the Blues back to the top of the table.
Having looked the better team without really threatening to score, the Blues fell behind to a Danny Hylton penalty shortly before half time.
The turning point came early in the second half when Hogan Ephraim replaced Steven Craig and made an immediate impression as the Chairboys tore Oxford apart for twenty minutes, scoring twice through Hayes and Murphy while playing some of the best football seen from a Wycombe team in years.
It could all have ended in tears when Oxford were awarded another penalty in the 90th minute, but the gods of good football intervened, Hylton’s spot-kick soared to the heavens and injustice was avoided.
With Luton dropping points, the Blues reclaimed top spot with an impressive 32 points from their opening 16 games.
Blues’ boss Gareth Ainsworth has said he would like a cup run, and with the carrot of a potential third-round money-spinner only two wins away, it would be a surprise to see anything other than the strongest available Wycombe side take the field on Saturday.
Ainsworth keeps his cards close to his chest when discussing injuries, but it’s reported that one or two players picked up knocks at Oxford and could be struggling for Saturday.
Recent absentees Paris Cowan-Hall and Aaron Holloway might be back in contention but Gary Doherty remains sidelined with a long term knee injury.
Here are some stats…
Barnet Home Record (all comps)……..W 7 – D 1 – L 2
Wycombe Away Record (all comps)….W 5 – D 2 – L 2
League positions & comparison with last season
Barnet (12 points better off)
After 19 games this season the Bees are top of the Conf with 42 points
After 19 games last season they were 7th with 30 points
Wycombe (11 points better off)
After 16 games this season the Chairboys are top of Lg2 with 32 points
After 16 games last season they were 15th with 21 points
Barnet’s last five games (All Competitions)
Conf: Gateshead (A)…….Won 2-0
Conf: Braintree (H)………Won 3-0
FAC: Chelmsford (A)……Drew 0-0
FAC: Chelmsford (H)…….Won 4-1
Conf: Welling (A)…………Won 2-1
Wycombe’s last five games (All Competitions)
Lg2: Morecambe (A)……..Won 3-1
Lg2: Wimbledon (H)………Won 2-0
Lg2: Exeter (A)…………….Lost 1-2
Lg2: Dagenham (H)……..Drew 1-1
Lg2: Oxford (A)……………Won 2-1
Barnet Goal Stats (21 games in all Competitions)
Goals Scored (Total)……….Lg: 43…Cups: 4…Total: 47
Goals Conceded (Total)……Lg: 14…Cups: 1…Total: 15
Goals Scored (Home)………Lg: 21…Cups: 4…Total: 25
Goals Conceded (Home)…..Lg: 7…..Cups: 1…Total: 8
Clean Sheets…………………Lg: 10…Cups: 1…Total: 11
Failed to Score……………….Lg: 1…..Cups: 1…Total: 2
Wycombe Goal Stats (18 games in all Competitions)
Goals Scored (Total)……….Lg: 23…Cups: 0…Total: 23
Goals Conceded (Total)……Lg: 12…Cups: 2…Total: 14
Goals Scored (Away)………Lg: 13…Cups: 0…Total: 13
Goals Conceded (Away)…..Lg: 6…..Cups: 1…Total: 7
Clean Sheets…………………Lg: 6…..Cups: 0…Total: 6
Failed to Score……………….Lg: 3…..Cups: 2…Total: 5
Barnet Goal Scorers – (All Competitions)
Akinde……………..12 (inc 2 pens)
Cook…………………8 (inc 1 pen)
Villa Lopez………….8
MacDonald………….5 (inc 3 pens)
Gambin………………3
Hoskins………………2
Marsh-Brown……….2
Weston………………2
Yiadom………………2
Johnson……………..1
N`Gala……………….1
Stephens…………….1
Wycombe Goal Scorers – (All Competitions)
Paul Hayes……………7 (inc 2 pens)
Peter Murphy…………7
Sam Wood……………3
Paris Cowan-Hall…….1
Aaron Holloway………1
Joe Jacobson…………1
Matt McClure…………1
Aaron Pierre………….1
Josh Scowen…………1
Wycombe Assists
Sam Wood……………..6
Paris Cowan-Hall……..3
Steven Craig…………..2
Paul Hayes……………..1
Joe Jacobson………….1
Max Kretzschmar……..1
Stuart Lewis……………1
Alfie Mawson…………..1
Peter Murphy…………..1
Aaron Pierre……………1
Wycombe – miscellaneous stats
Shots on-target (for)………..Lg: 63…Cups: 4…..Total: 67
Shots on-target (against)…..Lg: 42…Cups: 5…..Total: 47
Shots off-target (for)………..Lg: 92…Cups: 11…Total: 103
Shots off-target (against)…..Lg: 81…Cups: 4…..Total: 85
Shots against woodwork…….Lg: 5…..Cups: 1…..Total: 6
Corners (for)…………………..Lg: 69…Cups: 13…Total: 82
Corners (against)……………..Lg: 79…Cups: 3…..Total: 82
Average possession (for)………..Lg: 50.0%…Cups: 48.5%
Average possession (against)…..Lg: 50.0%…Cups: 51.5%
Discipline – (All Competitions)
Barnet………..0 Red Cards – 32 Yellow Cards
Wycombe…….0 Red Cards – 31 Yellow Cards
Previous Meetings
In 18 previous Football League, League Cup, Football League Trophy and FA Cup meetings (not counting qualifiers) there have been 6 wins for Wycombe, 5 for Barnet and 7 draws. The two sides have met many times in other competitions.
At Barnet the tally is 1 win for the Chairboys, 5 for the Bees and 3 draws.
1981/82 FAC: Barnet 2 Wycombe 0
1996/97 FAC: Barnet 3 Wycombe 3
2000/01 LGC: Barnet 2 Wycombe 1
2005/06 LG2: Barnet 0 Wycombe 0
2006/07 LG2: Barnet 2 Wycombe 1
2007/08 LG2: Barnet 2 Wycombe 1
2008/09 LG2: Barnet 1 Wycombe 1
2010/11 LG2: Barnet 0 Wycombe 1
2012/13 LG2: Barnet 1 Wycombe 0
The Man In The Middle
Saturday’s referee is Oliver Langford from the West Midlands who was promoted to the National List of Referees in 2008. His last Wycombe game was a 1-0 defeat at Yeovil in September 2011. He also took charge of Wycombe’s FA Cup defeat at Eastwood Town in November 2008. During the current campaign Mr Langford has issued 0 red and 27 yellow cards in 12 games.
Prediction
Barnet 1 Wycombe 1
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