Wycombe Wanderers have the chance to move up to 2nd place in the table on Tuesday evening when they take on Barnet at Adams Park.
Barnet are currently 20th in League Two with 36 points from 38 games played, 15 of those points having been collected away from home.
The Bees have improved their average points per game since mid season but remain only six points above the relegation zone, although they do have 2 games in hand on the three teams directly below them.
They have yet to win away from home in 2009 but have recorded 5 victories at Underhill since the New Year.
March has been a month of mixed fortunes for Barnet with 3 wins and 3 losses so far. They started with home wins over Rochdale (2-1) and Chester (3-1), then suffered defeats at Brentford (0-1) and Morecambe (1-2), before beating Lincoln 3-2 at Underhill and finally losing 1-0 at home to Darlington on Saturday.
So, despite some tough fixtures this month, the Bees have achieved a respectable return of 9 points which is good going for a side at the wrong end of the table and 3 more than Wycombe have managed to collect.
The Bees have the lowest number of clean sheets in League Two, having only kept 4 in their 38 league games.
They’ve scored 46 league goals (21 away from home) and have conceded 67 (35 away from home).
15 different players have scored for them in all competitions.
Top Goal Scorers
Striker: John O’Flynn – 17
Midfielder: Albert Adomah – 9
Striker: Paul Furlong – 4
Defender: Ismail Yakubu – 4
Wycombe Wanderers are currently 5th in the league with 64 points from 38 games played, 35 of those points having been won on their home turf at Adams Park.
The Chairboys are 7 points behind leaders Brentford but have 1 game in hand.
They are however still only 1 point below the 3rd and final automatic promotion place and have 2 games in hand on current occupants Rochdale.
Wycombe would dearly love a win to kick start their faltering promotion challenge. They’ve only tasted victory 4 times in 2009 and only once in their last 8 games.
Tuesday’s hosts have been sliding down the table in recent weeks but remain in the hunt for a top-three spot mainly as a result of their superb points tally in the first half of the season. The fact that their promotion rivals keep slipping-up themselves has also helped but surely can’t be relied upon for much longer.
The Chairboys have only taken 6 points from 6 games in March, having beaten Chester 2-0, lost 1-0 to both Lincoln and Rochdale and drawn games against Chesterfield, Brentford and Shrewsbury.
With an impressive 18 clean sheets in their 38 league games, they boast the best defensive record in the division.
They’ve scored 44 league goals (26 at home) and have conceded 27 (13 at home).
15 different players have scored for Wycombe in all competitions this season.
Top Goal Scorers
Striker: Matt Harrold – 12
Midfielder: Chris Zebroski – 6
Striker: Jon-Paul Pittman – 3
Midfielder: Matty Phillips – 3
Current League Form
Since Mid-Season
Wycombe:….Played:-15, Points:-18, Average:-1.20 Pts per game.
Barnet:……..Played:-15, Points:-17, Average:-1.13 Pts per game
Last Five League Games
Wycombe: DLDLD – 3 points
Barnet:……WLLWL – 6 points
Last Five Home Games
Wycombe:.DWDLD – 6 points
Last Five Away Games
Barnet:…LLDLL – 1 point
Earlier this season the two sides drew 1-1 at Underhill with Chris Zebroski scoring a second half equaliser for Wycombe after Nicky Deverdics had given Barnet a first half lead.
Last season Barnet won 2-1 at Underhill, scoring two goals in the last 13 minutes after a rare John Sutton goal had given the Chairboys the lead. The return match at Adams Park on New Year’s Day finished in a disappointing goalless draw.
Altogether the two sides have met on 12 occasions in all competitions with 3 wins for Wycombe, 4 for Barnet and 5 draws.
Previous Meetings at Adams Park
1996/97: Fac Wycombe 3 Barnet 2
2000/01: Lgc Wycombe 3 Barnet 1
2005/06: Lg2 Wycombe 1 Barnet 0
2006/07: Lg2 Wycombe 1 Barnet 1
2007/08: Lg2 Wycombe 0 Barnet 0
Ref Watch
The Referee for this match is Mr. Steve Bratt from the West Midlands.
Mr. Bratt has been a National List referee since 2006. His most recent Wycombe game was the 0-0 draw at Bury earlier this season, during which he issued yellow cards to Doherty, McGleish and Zebroski. So far this season he’s overseen 26 games and has issued 68 yellow cards and 5 reds.
Wycombe Team News
David McCracken is doubtful with a groin injury.
Stuart Beavon is doubtful with a groin injury.
Tommy Doherty is suspended for this game.
Leon Johnson is doubtful.
Chris Casement is on International duty.
Barnet are tricky opposition and Wycombe don’t often beat them but Tuesday evening would be a great time to do it.
If they win, the Chairboys climb to 2nd in the table and still have a game in hand over Bury, Rochdale and Gillingham.
Lose, and they could drop down to 6th if Exeter beat Port Vale.
Prediction
Wycombe 1 Barnet 0
It’s hard to imagine us scoring more than one goal at the moment and almost equally difficult to see us keeping a clean sheet, but you have to keep hoping for the best.
Midweek Rivals Watch
Exeter (6th) are at home to Port Vale (18th).
Chesterfield (9th) are away at Aldershot (14th).
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