Marcus Braddock previews tonight's game
This week sees Town head south to Northampton's Sixfields Stadium to take on the Cobblers who are sitting uncomfortably in 21st place in League One. It seems such a long time since we met on the opening day of the season at Montgomery Waters Meadow. Sadly for the Cobblers, that encounter set the tone for the season for both clubs and they've found the going difficult. Their form at the moment isn't really inspiring but their three draws and two defeats in their last five games could have been more profitable with just a couple of extra goals. So, despite what their form says, they aren't far away from the results they need. Having said that, the way the fixtures have fallen have been a little cruel with in form Rotherham and ourselves lined up just after a 3 consecutive draws looked to be steadying things a little. However, they won’t want a repeat of Saturday’s three goal defeat at home to Rotherham so I expect strong resistance from the Cobblers.
Top Scorers
Chris Long 9
John-Joe O'Toole 5
Matt Crooks 4
Matt Grimes 7
John-Joe O'Toole 3
Shaun McWilliams 2
Brendan Moloney 2
Daniel Powell 2
Clean Sheets
Four at home and one away.
Stats
61% of Northampton's goals conceded at home have been scored in the second half but 67% of their goals scored at home have been scored in the first half.
Their worst period of home games is the middle fifteen minutes of the second half, during which they have conceded seven and scored just one.
The Cobblers have lost 53% of their league games at Sixfield stadium and score an average of .8 goals per home game.
The commonest result at Sixfield Stadium this season is 0-1 which has occurred on five occasions.
Referee
Andy Davies from Hampshire. Games this season: 23. Yellow cards:84. Red cards:3.
Squad News
Cobblers midfielder Matt Crooks is suspended, top scorer Chris Long is a doubt but striker Kevin van Veen could be available after a month out.
Ben Godfrey is a doubt after being substituted on Saturday but James Bolton is closer to fitness.
Summary
After winning five away games on the bounce, you could be forgiven for thinking that this game should be easy. However, none of the last five away wins have been picnics and having a record like that just means teams try that little bit harder. A good result against a team near the top of the division would be a great catalyst for the Cobblers so we need to be as vigilant as possible and sharp in front of goal.