Wycombe Wanderers travel to Stockport County on Saturday for their 34th league game of the season.
The League table currently shows County in 24th place with 20 points from 31 games, while the Chairboys are one place higher in 23rd spot with 28 points from 33 games.
Stockport’s home record is……..Won 1, Drawn 4, Lost 10.
Wycombe’s away record is……..Won 2, Drawn 6, Lost 8.
Edgeley Park has always been an unhappy hunting ground for the Chairboys who are yet to win there in ten previous attempts, having finished on the losing side eight times and drawn twice.
Their last two visits were a 6-0 drubbing in December 2007, followed by a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat five months later in the 2nd leg of the 2008 League Two play-off semi-final.
Unpleasant memories for Blues’ fans, but if manager Gary Waddock’s new-look Wycombe side can maintain their recent impressive form and collect all three points on Saturday, past disappointments will soon be forgotten.
Unbeaten in three tough matches against Brentford, Millwall and Southampton, the Chairboys have looked a far more accomplished side in recent weeks, helped greatly by their eleven new signings since the January transfer window opened.
With two clean sheets in a row, their previously porous defence is finally looking solid, and in goalkeeper Tom Heaton, the Chairboys have borrowed a real gem.
Nagging doubts remain over Wycombe’s ability to score enough goals to survive the drop, but if the team continue to put in the type of performance they did in their last three games, we could well be in for a nail biting finish to the season.
The financially troubled Hatters are having a season to forget. Bottom of the table and with a dire goal-difference, they’re effectively 13 points from safety and showing little sign of the sort of form necessary to stay up.
To reach the 50 points commonly associated with safety, County need to average exactly 2 points per game between now and the end of the season, but in their 8 games since the turn of the year, have averaged only 0.75.
The Hatters have also been busy in the January transfer window and their starting eleven in Tuesday evening’s 4-1 defeat at Swindon Town contained eight recent signings who didn’t feature when the Chairboys beat them 2-1 at Adams Park in December.
Four of their new faces come from Franchise, while another that Wycombe fans will remember is midfielder David Perkins who usually played well against the Chairboys during his time with Rochdale.
George Donnelly (Plymouth Argyle) loan
Paul Huntington (Leeds Utd) free
Jabo Ibehre (Franchise) loan
Jemal Johnson (Franchise) loan
Richie Partridge (Franchise) free
David Perkins (Colchester United) loan
Mathew Sadler (Watford) loan
Danny Swailes (Franchise) free
Although it’s looking bleak for Stockport and many of their fans appear resigned to the drop, they still see this as a very winnable game and haven’t given up on catching the Chairboys and at least avoiding the wooden spoon.
For Wycombe, this game is an opportunity to build on their recent good results and narrow the gap between themselves and safety even further. Blues’ fans have seen their side put in some impressive performances against top-half opposition this season but have watched them crumble on several occasions when faced with a relegation rival. Win or lose on Saturday, they will expect to have seen the same level of energy and commitment against the Hatters as they did in the recent games against Millwall and Southampton.
Stockport’s last five games (All Competitions)
LG1: Southampton (A)….Lost 2-0
LG1: Franchise (H)……….Lost 3-1
LG1: Colchester (H)……Drew 2-2
LG1: Exeter (A)………….Won 1-0
LG1: Swindon (A)………..Lost 4-1
Wycombe’s last five games (All Competitions)
LG1: Bristol Rovers (A)…..Won 3-2
LG1: Yeovil (H)……………..Lost 4-1
LG1: Brentford (A) ………Drew 1-1
LG1: Millwall (H)……………Won 1-0
LG1: Southampton (H)…..Drew 0-0
Stockport Goal Stats (36 games in all Competitions)
Goals Scored (Total)………38
Goals Conceded (Total)…..71
Goals Scored (Home)……..20
Goals Conceded (Home)….37
Clean Sheets….6
Wycombe Goal Stats (37 games in all Competitions)
Goals Scored (Total)………39
Goals Conceded (Total)…..69
Goals Scored (Away)……..17
Goals Conceded (Away)….34
Clean Sheets….4
Stockport’s Top Goal Scorers (All Competitions)
Carl Baker……………13 (inc 5 pens)
Peter Thompson………3
Nicholas Bignall……….3
David Poole……………2
Jabo Ibehre……………2
Michael Rose…………..2
Paul Turnbull…………..2
Greg Tansey…………..2
Seven other Stockport players have each scored 1 goal.
Wycombe’s Top Goal Scorers (All Competitions)
Jon-Paul Pittman………9 (inc 1 pen)
Matt Harrold……………9 (inc 5 pens)
Scott Davies……………4
Stuart Beavon…………2
Kevin Betsy…………….2
Chris Westwood……….2
Chris Zebroski…………2
Nine other Wycombe players have each scored 1 goal.
Stockport Shooting (Top-3)
Carl Baker………….39 on-target…33 off-target…0 against woodwork
Greg Tansey……….12 on-target…22 off-target…0 against woodwork
David Poole………..16 on-target…12 off-target…1 against woodwork
Wycombe Shooting (Top-3)
Scott Davies………..19 on-target…24 off-target…4 against woodwork
Jon-Paul Pittman…..23 on-target…18 off-target…1 against woodwork
Matt Phillips…………16 on-target…17 off-target…2 against woodwork
Shooting (Club)
Stockport..188 on target..144 off target..1 against woodwork (Rank-14)
Wycombe..166 on target..146 off target..9 against woodwork (Rank-18)
League Form Guide
All Season
Stockport…Pld: 31…W: 4….D: 8…..L: 19…Pts: 20…Pts per game: 0.65
Wycombe…Pld: 33…W: 6….D: 10…L: 17…Pts: 28…Pts per game: 0.85
Since 1st January 2010
Stockport….Pld: 8…W: 1….D: 3…L: 4…Pts: 6….Pts per game: 0.75
Wycombe….Pld: 9…W: 2….D: 4…L: 3…Pts: 10..Pts per game: 1.11
Against Top Half Opposition
Stockport……..Pld: 17….Pts: 3……Pts per game: 0.18…(Rank-24)
Wycombe……..Pld: 19….Pts: 20….Pts per game: 1.05…(Rank-12)
Against Bottom Half Opposition
Stockport……..Pld: 14….Pts: 17….Pts per game: 1.21…(Rank-22)
Wycombe……..Pld: 14….Pts: 8……Pts per game: 0.57…(Rank-24)
Last Five league Games
Stockport………..LLDWL – 4 points
Wycombe………WLDWD – 8 points
Last Five League Games (Home)
Stockport…………LLDLD – 2 points
Last Five League Games (Away)
Wycombe………..LDDWD – 6 points
Previous Meetings
In 20 previous meetings there have been 10 wins for Stockport, 4 wins for Wycombe and 6 draws.
At Edgeley Park there have been 8 wins for Stockport, 2 draws and 0 wins for Wycombe.
1994/95 LG1: Stockport 4 Wycombe 1
1995/96 LG1: Stockport 1 Wycombe 1
1996/97 LG1: Stockport 2 Wycombe 1
2002/03 LG1: Stockport 2 Wycombe 1
2003/04 LG1: Stockport 2 Wycombe 0
2005/06 LG2: Stockport 3 Wycombe 3
2006/07 FAC: Stockport 2 Wycombe 1
2006/07 LG2: Stockport 2 Wycombe 0
2007/08 LG2: Stockport 6 Wycombe 0
2007/08 PLoff Stockport 1 Wycombe 0
The Man In The Middle
Saturday’s referee is Colin Webster from Tyne & Wear who joined the Referees’ List in 2000. His most recent Wycombe game was last season’s 1-1 draw at Grimsby Town, during which Tommy Doherty was sent off. So far this season he’s issued 35 yellow and 3 red cards in 16 games.
Prediction
The Chairboys to break their Edgeley Park duck.
Away Win
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