Match Preview: Wycombe v Darlington

This Saturday League leaders Wycombe Wanderers take on Darlington at Adams Park.


The Quakers sit 9th in the table, having amassed 15 points this season, courtesy of 4 wins, 3 draws and 3 defeats. They have scored 18 goals and conceded 11, giving them a +7 goal difference.

Their most memorable result was a 6-0 victory away from home against Macclesfield Town. Last time out, the Quakers took all three points after winning 2-1 away at Luton.

Eight different players have scored league goals for Darlington this season, the most notable being Billy Clarke, who has found the net 7 times. Clarke is on loan to the Quakers from Championship side Ipswich Town.



The table-topping Chairboys have 22 points from 6 wins and 4 draws and are yet to taste defeat in a league fixture. They have scored 12 goals and conceded 4, giving them a goal difference of +8.

Last Saturday at Grimsby, the Blues netted a last minute equaliser to preserve their unbeaten record, but also suffered a red card for key midfielder Tommy Doherty, which will keep him out for 3 games, starting with this match against the Quakers.

Midfielder Franck Moussa has today been signed on a one month loan from Southend, to bolster the Blues’ midfield options ahead of the game.



Last Five League Games
Wycombe : DWDWD – 9 points
Darlington : WWLDW -10 points


Home Form
Wycombe : DWDWW – 11 points

Away Form
Darlington : DWLLW – 7 points



There was nothing to choose between the two sides last season.

Wycombe and Darlington both finished with 78 points and qualified for the League Two play-offs. However, neither side could make it past the semi-final stage, Wycombe losing to Stockport and Darlington going out at the hands of Rochdale.

Honours were also even after the two league games between the sides last term. Darlington won 1-0 at home and Wycombe recorded a 2-0 triumph in one of the more entertaining Blues’ performances seen at Adams Park last season, notable for Leon Knight’s spectacular overhead kick to open the scoring.


The Quakers have not reported any fresh injury problems.

Wycombe are still without the injured Matt Bloomfield and Will Antwi, whilst Tommy Doherty is of course suspended. Full Back Lewis Hunt made his long-awaited debut for the reserves in midweek, but manager Taylor has indicated that he feels Hunt needs more reserve games to become fully match-fit.

Manager Taylor is likely to start with his favoured 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 formation, featuring Matt Harrold as the target man, flanked by Chris Zebroski and Gavin Grant.

The central midfield line-up is less predictable given the absence of Doherty. Gary Holt played 45 minutes against Grimsby last Saturday, but unsurprisingly, after his time out, he looked off the pace. However, I would expect to see him start against Darlington alongside Mousinho and either Spence or new signing Moussa.


This is another tough game for the Blues, made even harder by Doherty’s absence, but they should be strong enough to win by the odd goal.

Prediction
Wycombe 2 Darlington 1