Morecambevs.Doncaster

The hosts moved within two points of safety with a crucial victory at the weekend, while their visitors have dropped to sixth spot following consecutive defeats.

Match preview

Morecambe will go in search of a second straight League Two victory on Tuesday in a bid to further strengthen their survival hopes, having moved within touching distance of safety at the weekend.

Derek Adams's side have endured a tough campaign thus far, sitting in the bottom two for the majority having picked up 26 points from their first 31 games, although they have improved their standing with two wins in their last four attempts.

The Shrimps ended a three-match losing run by beating Fleetwood Town 4-2 at the start of January, only to go on and suffer back-to-back away defeats at the hands of Newport County and Notts County.

Adams's men then met fellow strugglers Accrington Stanley in a crucial contest on Saturday and made it three wins in their last four home league games, as Lee Angol opened the scoring in the second half and Ged Garner wrapped up a 2-0 triumph two minutes from time.

That win saw Morecambe move within two points of 22nd-placed Tranmere Rovers and four points of 21st-placed Accrington Stanley, and they will now aim to extend their pleasing run of form on home turf and leap out of the drop zone with another victory.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head to the Mazuma Mobiles Stadium aiming to make their own return to winning ways in their battle at the other end of England's fourth tier.

Aiming to win promotion back to League One under the management of Grant McCann, following last season's playoff defeat, Doncaster Rovers moved into a strong position in the fight for top-three spots as four straight wins across mid-January and early February left them on 52 points from 29 outings.

Those results left the Yorkshire outfit second in League Two, but they have since suffered consecutive defeats and slipped down to sixth spot, firstly visiting playoff-chasers Chesterfield and succumbing to a 5-2 beating.

The Rovers then hosted Grimsby Town on Saturday and again came away empty-handed, having gone 2-0 down to a Justin Obikwu finish and a Joseph Olowu own goal and failed to find a leveller after Rob Street reduced the deficit to 2-1 in the 85th minute.

Now sitting sixth but only trailing third-placed Bradford City and second-placed AFC Wimbledon by two and three points respectively with 15 games left to play, Doncaster Rovers will aim to bounce back with a 16th league win of the season on Tuesday and strengthen their automatic promotion hopes.

Morecambe League Two form:

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Doncaster Rovers League Two form:

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Doncaster Rovers form (all competitions):

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Team News

Derek Adams should field a similar Morecambe starting XI to Saturday's 2-0 win over Accrington Stanley, although Ged Garner may come in from the outset, having began his second loan spell with the club with a goal off the bench last time out, after netting four league goals for the Shrimps in the second half of last term.

There is competition for attacking spots, though, with Lee Angol likely to again lead the line, while Andy Dallas has netted two goals in the first four games of his own loan spell and Ben Tollitt will hope to come back in from the start having netted a team-high tally of eight goals this term.

Harvey Macadam and Paul Lewis should continue their midfield partnership, while Liverpool loanee Rhys Williams remains a key man at the back.

Doncaster Rovers may make several changes to their starting side after the weekend's defeat, with Billy Sharp and Rob Street both hoping to displace Joe Ironside and start up front.

The former has netted 10 goals since his summer return to the Rovers, but Street could be given the nod after netting the third goal of his loan spell last time out.

Whichever lone striker is preferred should again have support from Jordan Gibson, Harry Clifton and Luke Molyneux, who leads the squad with 13 goals this season, while Charlie Crew and Owen Bailey will hope to continue their midfield partnership despite competition from George Broadbent.

Morecambe possible starting lineup:

Schofield; Hendrie, Taylor, Williams, A Lewis; P Lewis, Macadam; Garner, Tollitt, Dallas; Angol

Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:

Sharman-Lowe, Sterry, Olowu, Anderson, Maxwell; Bailey, Crew; Molyneux, Clifton, Gibson; Street

We say: Morecambe 1-2 Doncaster Rovers

Written by

Sam Varley

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