Marcus Braddock looks ahead to the weekend trip to Burton Albion
After a flurry of home games, Shrewsbury Town travel to Burton this weekend in Skybet League One. The Brewers have had a pretty mixed season so far after relegation from the Championship. Their season started off with a couple of defeats but their third game saw them beat us at 2-1 at Montgomery Waters Meadow in the Carabao Cup. Since then they've gone through a cycle of back-to-back wins followed by defeats or draws with only their last home win not coupled with another. They currently sit just below us in 16th with the same amount of points but they've have played one game less so a home win this weekend would give them three points between them and us with a one game advantage.
Form
LLWLL
Top Scorers (cup goals in brackets)
Liam Boyce 5 (3)
Jamie Allen 3 (1)
Kyle McFadzean 3
Scott Fraser 2 (1)
Lucas Akins 2 (1)
Assists
Liam Boyce 4
Scott Fraser 4
Lucas Akins 3
Clean Sheets
Five at home, none away.
Stats
Goals per game at home: 1.2.
Goals conceded at home: 9.
The most common result at the Pirelli Stadium is a 1-2 defeat for the home team, which has occurred four times. The second most common result at home is a 1-0 win.
40% of their home games have been goalless at half time.
Their highest scoring part of the game is the first 15 minutes of the second half with four goals scored this season.
Referee
Ben Toner from Lancashire. Games this season: 19. Yellow cards: 50. Red cards: 2
Assistants: Lisa Rachid and Peter Gooch.
Fourth official: David Benton.
Squad News
Shaun Whalley played in midweek so he may feature. Ollie Norburn isn't far away from returning to training but this weekend may be a little too soon for him.
Summary
Having not played since 27th November, the Brewers have had a nice long rest in advance of the Christmas programme but will that mean they are full of beans or a little rusty? Sam Ricketts made changes on Wednesday against Walsall so some of our tired legs have had a chance to recover too. The form is interesting in this game, Burton have won just once in five games whereas we're in great form. However, our away form has been poor and Burton will fancy their chances after winning more at home than they've lost. However, Sam Ricketts will know all about our away results and may well have a few ideas about how to change it.
COYB!!!