The Completely-Suzuki Stadium plays host to a vital game in the League One relegation scrap this weekend as Accrington Stanley travel to face Cheltenham on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts currently find themselves in 18th place in the League One table, having picked up 29 points from their 28 league games so far this campaign. In a very congested bottom half of the League One table, Cheltenham are only two points above the relegation zone.
The Robins come into this weekend on the back of a terrible run of form that has seen them go winless in their last six games, losing five and drawing one. However, Cheltenham’s form may be slightly misleading as they have faced very tough opposition in the form of Plymouth, Derby and Bolton, all within the last four weeks.
Cheltenham have the worst goalscoring record in the league, having only netted 23 times in their 28 league games this season. The Robins have failed to score in their last two league games and could go three league matches without a goal for the second time this season.
Accrington sit four places behind the Robins in the table, however a win this weekend could see the Reds leapfrog Cheltenham and rise as high as 17th in the table. The Reds have gained 26 points in the league, following six wins, eight draws and thirteen defeats from their 27 league games this season.
John Coleman’s side featured in midweek action as they travelled to face Port Vale on Tuesday night. Goalkeeper Lukas Jensen was Accrington’s unlikely hero as the recalled goalkeeper saved a 76th minute penalty to earn 10-man Stanley a precious point.
The Reds took the lead in the 52nd minute as on-loan Brentford striker Aaron Pressley fired home from the spot. However the lead was short lived as David Worrall equalised for Port Vale five minutes later. The game finished 1-1 thanks to Lukas Jensen’s heroics.
Cheltenham have struggled to take all three points from this fixture in recent years and have only won one of the last six meetings. However, the Robins do have a good record at home in this fixture and have won three of their last four home league games against the Reds.
Wade Elliot’s side recorded a slender victory when these sides met earlier on in the 22/23 League One campaign. Sean McConville’s goal after just 30 seconds gave Accrington their second win of the campaign in a game devoid of many clear cut chances.
Cheltenham are home favourites heading into this clash and they are currently priced @ 5/4 to come out on top whilst an away win for Accrington is priced @ 2/1. Cheltenham’s top scorer Alfie May, who has 9 goals so far this campaign, is the favourite to score in the game @ 13/8.
We are backing under 1.5 goals because of both of these sides poor goalscoring record so far this season. Cheltenham and Accrington have the worst and second worst goalscoring records in League One and we expect this to be a tight affair given what is at stake for Accrington’s relegation threat.