The Brewers face Wycombe Wanderers this weekend at Adams Park in a fixture which will see two of the leakiest defences in League One go head to head. Wycombe are the favourites, having won three of the last four meetings, but the most recent encounter saw Burton claim a 2-1 win at home.
Wycombe Wanderers
The Chairboys faithful will be extremely concerned with the way their side has started the new campaign and their side sits in 17th place with the joint worst goals conceded record in League One. Wycombe’s season began with back to back 3-0 defeats against Exeter City and Lincoln City, two sides they were favourites to beat. Luckily, Matt Bloomfield’s side were able to end their run of consecutive defeats this week, after they beat Leyton orient 3-2 at home. Although the three points is vital, the performance was still rather poor and it took a Leyton Orient red card for the Chairboys to assert their dominance.
It was the new signings who made the difference with Dale Taylor scoring and Luke Leahy registering two assists from midfield. However the player who made the most impact was 21-year-old centre back, Joe Low, who scored twice on his League One debut for Wycombe. Despite only being young, Bloomfield will hope that he can positively influence the Wycombe back line and make them much more difficult to breach.
Burton Albion
If it wasn’t for Wigan Athletic’s point deduction, Burton Albion would be sitting in last place having lost all three of their opening games. Having said that, sympathy must be shown to the Brewers as they have had arguably the toughest start to the season, playing Blackpool and Derby County, who will both be fighting for promotion towards the end of the season. Dino Maamria’s side had the opportunity to turn their poor start around in mid-week, yet they suffered a 2-1 defeat away to Shrewsbury Town.
Getting on the scoresheet is a positive that the side can take away from the game, however the Brewers lost their new signing and first choice goalkeeper Jamal Blackman in the first half due to injury, which is a huge blow to the squad. Mason Bennet was the player who scored and the ex-Millwall man will need to use his strike as momentum, as he will most likely get chances against Wycombe due to their defensive weaknesses.
Verdict?
Both sides are struggling at the back and have only recently found their shooting boots, which may ultimately lead to an exciting, tennis like affair. Wycombe have been able to get out of their rut unlike Burton and they should have just enough quality to pick up three points.
The final prediction is Wycombe Wanderers 2-1 Burton Albion.
