Preview: Fleetwood Town vs. Accrington Stanley - prediction, team news, lineups

Accrington Stanley, meanwhile, are aiming to end a run of four consecutive league defeats when they travel to Highbury this weekend.

Match preview

Since losing to Port Vale on the opening day of the season, Fleetwood have lost only three times in 14 league outings, although they have won just three games in that period.

Their draw with Forest Green Rovers last time out stopped a run of back-to-back defeats for Scott Brown's side, but they are still without a win in the league since the 1-0 defeat against Burton Albion on October 4.

Fleetwood dominated the early stages against Rovers only for Harvey Bunker to give Forest Green the lead in the 24th minute with his first goal for the club, however, Callum Morton rescued a point for the Cods after turning home Shaun Rooney's cross 20 minutes from time.

Draws have been the story of Fleetwood's league season so far, sharing the spoils in eight of their 15 league matches - the highest tally in the division.

Fleetwood have only won once on their home patch so far this season, but will fancy their chances against Saturday's opponents, who have lost their last four league outings.

John Coleman's Accrington are experiencing somewhat of a defensive crisis, shipping three goals in each of their last four games.

Last time out, they took the lead against Peterborough United through Harvey Rodgers, only for the Posh to turn the game on its head in the second half and leave Stanley without a win in the league since their triumph over Morecambe, at the start of October.

Concerns will be growing for Coleman and his staff as they only sit three points above the relegation places, and one point behind their opponents on Saturday.

However, due to the tightly-packed middle of the division, it also means they are only five points outside of the top half, after picking up wins in all three of the games before their current losing run.

The Reds won this fixture last year at Highbury, which will give them confidence that they can secure a positive result this weekend.

Fleetwood Town League One form:

L

W

D

L

L

D

Fleetwood Town form (all competitions):

W

D

L

W

L

D

Accrington Stanley League One form:

W

W

L

L

L

L

Accrington Stanley form (all competitions):

W

L

L

W

L

L

Team News

The home side are still expected to be without the services of Michael Devlin and Darnell Johnson due to injury issues.

Toto Nsiala is also still absent for the hosts, having not featured in the starting XI since being forced off against Portsmouth.

After scoring three in his last five games, Carlos Mendes will look to retain his place on the left flank, while Callum Morton has started the last two matches up top.

Meanwhile, John Coleman could make several changes to his side as he opted for the same starting XI against Peterborough which had lost narrowly to Bolton Wanderers the previous Saturday.

Seamus Conneely could return to the side after serving a three-match suspension for his red card offence against Plymouth Argyle.

Mitch Clark, Doug Tharme, Ryan Astley and Harvey Rodgers have started the past three games in the heart of the defence, but with Stanley conceding plenty of goals of late, Coleman may be tempted to change things.

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:

Lynch; Rooney, Baker, Earl, Andrew; Vela, Warrington; Macadam, Lane, Mendes; Muskwe

Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:

Savin; Clark, Tharme, Astley, Rodgers; Whalley, Coyle, Pritchard, Hamilton, McConville; Leigh

We say: Fleetwood Town 1-1 Accrington Stanley

We think this will be a closely-fought contest at Highbury, with both teams low on confidence.

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