Preview: Macclesfield v Wycombe

Wycombe Wanderers attempt to get back on track at Moss Rose on Tuesday evening when they take on Macclesfield Town in a League Two fixture.


The Silkmen are currently 15th in League Two with 31 points from 25 games, 18 points behind leaders Wycombe but with one game in hand.

After losing their opening four league games of the season, Macclesfield have recovered well to sit comfortably in mid-table. If they win their game in hand they are only eight points away from a play-off place and their more optimistic fans haven’t yet given up hope that a good run might put them in the mix.

Macclesfield’s recent form is good, Their only loss in the previous four games has come against Premiership opposition when they went out of the FA Cup 1-0 to Everton. The Silkmen’s last three league games have seen them win 3-1 at home to Chester, gain a creditable 1-1 draw at Aldershot and then beat 2nd placed Brentford 2-0 at Moss Rose on Saturday.

Macclesfield have scored 32 league goals (16 at home) and have conceded 48 (26 at home).

12 different players have scored for the Silkmen in all competitions and their top marksmen are Gareth Evans and Martin Gritton with 7 goals apiece. Simon Yeo has 6 and Francis Green is next with 5 goals to his name.

Gritton joined Chesterfield earlier this month and Macclesfield have replaced him with the speedy Emile Sinclair who is on-loan from Nottingham Forest. Sinclair scored on his debut against Brentford on Saturday.



Wycombe Wanderers remain 6 points clear at the top of League Two with 49 points from 26 games.

The Chairboys enjoyed a comfortable win over Macclesfield only last month, but their recent form has drastically deteriorated. The last five games have only produced five points for Peter Taylor’s side and they come into Tuesday’s game on the back of two straight defeats. A surprise 1-0 home defeat at the hands of 22nd placed Grimsby was followed at the weekend by a 3-1 loss at 23rd placed Bournemouth.

Their once impregnable defence has conceded 7 goals in the previous 5 games and It’s rumoured that key defender Mike Williamson will be a Watford player by the time Wycombe take the field against the Silkmen.

No doubt the Chairboys will be keen to put their mini-slump behind them and get back to winning ways on Tuesday night.

Wycombe have scored 34 league goals (14 away from home) and have conceded 18 (9 away from home).

12 different players have scored for Wycombe in all competitions and the top marksman is Matt Harrold with 11 goals. Next highest scorer is Chris Zebroski who has found the net 6 times, while on-loan teenager Angelo Balanta, soon to be departed defender Mike Williamson and last season’s top scorer Scott McGleish all have 3 goals to their name.



Current League Form

Last Five League Games
Macclesfield: LLWDW – 7 points
Wycombe: DDWLL – 5 points


Last Five Home Games
Macclesfield: WDLWW – 10 points


Last Five Away Games
Wycombe: WLWDL – 7 points




Earlier this season Wycombe comfortably beat Macclesfield 4-0 in a rearranged game after the original fixture at Adams Park was snowed-off after only 22 minutes. Magno Vieira scored twice for the Blues with the other goals coming from Angelo Balanta and Leon Johnson.

Last season Wycombe won both encounters 2-1 with Scott McGleish and Reuben Reid scoring at Moss Rose and McGleish bagging both the Blues’ goals at Adams Park.


Previous Games at Moss Rose

1998/99 Lg1: Macclesfield 1 Wycombe 3
2004/05 Lg2: Macclesfield 2 Wycombe 1
2005/06 Lg2: Macclesfield 2 Wycombe 1
2006/07 Lg2: Macclesfield 0 Wycombe 2
2007/08 Lg2: Macclesfield 0 Wycombe 2




Ref Watch

The Referee for this match is Mr. A Haines.

Mr. Haines was in charge when Wycombe won 1-0 at Accrington earlier this season during which he showed no red or yellow cards to either team. He also oversaw Wycombe’s 4-0 win at Mansfield last season during which he issued one yellow card to Wycombe player Andre Boucaud. He has been the man in the middle for 18 games so far this campaign and has shown 48 yellow cards and 2 reds.




Wycombe Team News

Lewis Hunt will be out for another month with a broken bone in his foot.

Mike Williamson will probably be gone for a fee that won’t even make a significant dent in the huge debt the PLC board have somehow allowed to accrue.

Let’s hope we all feel it was worth it when the season ends in May. In a recent poll on this site 473 votes were cast and 83% were in favour of keeping Williamson until the end of the season to aid the promotion push, even if it meant losing him for nothing in the Summer.

The player himself has been quoted as saying he was happy to stay and see the campaign through. His choice of a future club would probably have been even more extensive in the Summer as no fee would have been payable.



Wycombe remain top of the table after their recent poor results simply because their rivals have failed to take advantage. They won’t want to push their luck any further and will no doubt be determined to take back control of their own destiny by winning games again.

Macclesfield will be in confident mood having comfortably beaten high-flying Brentford on Saturday and will almost certainly be tougher opposition than they were at Adams Park in December.


Prediction

No idea really, but….

Macclesfield 0 Wycombe 1

Keep the faith