Plymouth - Wrexham, English Division 2
2004-03-27 16.00 CET
Pick: Plymouth
Stake: 4%
Odds: 1,62
Final reason for bet
· Table toppers Plymouth is in good form.
· Plymouth is a very strong home side.
· Plymouth has a fully fit squad.
· Wrexham has played badly on the road lately.
· Wrexham has injury doubts.
General comment about the game
On Saturday afternoon Plymouth will take on Wrexham at home in one of the matches in English division 2. Table topping Plymouth is in very good form having not lost for over a month. Five wins and two draws since their last defeat have put them on solid ground at the top of the table. They are seven points clear from second placed Queens Park Rangers and more important nine points clear of third placed Bristol City; the first two earns direct promotion to division 1. A couple of weeks ago they changed manager since former coach Paul Sturrock left for Southampton. What could easily have affected the team in a bad way at a crucial stage of the season seems to have turned out very good. The players have handled the manager swift very good and continued to perform well, so new boss Kevin Summerfield is still unbeaten after four matches in charge. Plymouth has the second best home record in the league. Since their only defeat at home this season back in September they have played 13 games and won 11. Last game at home against Peterborough ended with a comfortable victory for the hosts with 2-0. In form Peterborough had three consecutive victories before the Plymouth game. However, they did not try enough to extend that row since they played very defensive and only seemed to try to hold on to the point they started the match with. In the first half Plymouth could not find the space and effort to break down a stubborn Peterborough. However, in second half Plymouth’s methodical build-ups finally paid of and after just ten minutes half time substitute Nathan Lowndes (16(11) apps, 7 goals) scored the first goal. Plymouth continued to pressure and ten minutes before the end they were rewarded with a spot kick that skipper Paul Wotton (26(6) apps, 8 goals) converted into a goal. Last weekend Plymouth played away to another in form team; play off candidates Luton. The match that ended 1-1 was played in very difficult weather conditions and both teams’ performances reflected that. In all, Luton were the better team for the day but were denied all three points in injury time when Plymouth midfielder Steven Adams (21(8) apps, 2 goals) headed home the equaliser. No new injury or suspension concerns for the Plymouth squad meaning that manager Summerfield can continue with the same starting eleven as last. He will however have positive selection problems up front since striker Marino Keith (22(10) apps, 9 goals) played brilliant for the reserves in midweek by scoring four goals and now wants to regain his starting place. Keith was left on the substitute bench in the Luton game since fellow striker partner Lowndes performed so well in the Peterborough game.
Wrexham still resides in 10th place in the league. Recently they have performed very well when playing at home managing five straight unbeaten home matches. These matches have rekindled their play off dreams. However, the form when playing away is the reverse with four straight defeats. In their last game on the road against promotion hopefuls Queens Park Rangers they could not stand up against the pressure from the hosts in the second half and lost rightfully with 2-0. During the weekend they played against another top team; Swindon. This game was at home in a game played under very difficult weather conditions. Wrexham mastered the weather best and collected all three points against an underachieving Swindon side. Wrexham may suffer from two blows on Saturday. Both striker Chris Llewellyn (37 apps, 7 goals) and midfielder Paul Barrett (13(6) apps, 1 goal) are rated doubtful. Llewellyn, who has played very good lately, limped out from the victory in the Welsh FA Cup in midweek with an ankle injury. The game ended with a penalty shootout and even if Wrexham were lucky then manager Smith fears his side will feel the effects of their exertions on Saturday and believes that was the last thing they needed in front of the Plymouth game.
We believe that Plymouth will continue to win at home since no negative signs are spotted. On Saturday they face a Wrexham side that has four straight defeats when playing away and with Plymouth’s usually very strong performances at home we do not believe that Wrexham can disturb the hosts winning plans. We stake 4% on Plymouth in this game.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-03-20 |
Luton-Plymouth |
1-1 |
|
2004-03-16 |
Plymouth-Peterborough |
2-0 |
|
2004-03-13 |
Plymouth-Swindon |
2-1 |
|
2004-03-06 |
Notts County-Plymouth |
0-0 |
|
2004-03-02 |
Plymouth-Sheffield W |
2-0 |
Recent games for away team
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2004-03-20 |
Wrexham-Swindon |
3-2 |
|
2004-03-16 |
QPR-Wrexham |
2-0 |
|
2004-03-13 |
Peterborough-Wrexham |
6-1 |
|
2004-03-06 |
Wrexham-Grimsby |
3-0 |
|
2004-02-28 |
Wrexham-Rushden&Diamonds |
1-1 |
Home table
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Plymouth |
19 |
14 |
4 |
1 |
46-12 |
46 |
Away table
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Wrexham |
18 |
8 |
0 |
10 |
20-33 |
24 |
Links for this game
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// SportsObserver 040326
