Northamptonvs.Birmingham

The Cobblers will be hoping to build on their win last time out, while the Blues will be aiming to make it three victories on the bounce.

Match preview

Kevin Nolan's Northampton have lost just one of their last five games and are on a three-game unbeaten run ahead of this weekend's clash, their first trio of matches without defeat since the turn of the year.

Most recently, the Cobblers took a two-goal lead and managed to hold on for an impressive 2-1 win on the road to promotion-chasing Leyton Orient last weekend.

That victory has Nolan's side 19th in League One, and lengthened the cushion between themselves and Burton Albion in the relegation zone to a more comfortable eight points.

That safety net will give the hosts a safety net this weekend considering that they have lost every other home match going back to December, though they could take some confidence from the fact that they have won two of their last five at Sixfields.

It will not be lost on Northampton that they are up against the best team in the third tier on Saturday, but they will still want to give a good account of themselves, and an unlikely win could take them as high as 15th depending on results elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Chris Davies's Birmingham are undoubtedly title favourites, and having dropped points just six times across all competitions since November - losing only twice in that time - they will be expecting to pick up another three points this weekend.

Last time out, the Blues followed up their 1-0 win against Lincoln City by beating Stevenage 2-1 at St Andrews' thanks to a penalty from Kieran Dowell and a Paik Seung-Ho strike early in the second half.

The three points they earned on Tuesday took them 14 points clear at the top of the table after second-placed Wycombe Wanderers dropped points in a stalemate.

The visitors will be confident of seizing maximum points away from home this time around, but it is notable that they lost their most recent game away from their own ground against Bolton Wanderers, and drew the one prior against Reading in late February.

Birmingham's 26th win of the season on Saturday could take their lead to 17 points and make their dominance even more unassailable with 10 more fixtures to play.

Northampton Town League One form:

L

W

L

D

D

W

Birmingham City League One form:

D

W

W

L

W

W

Team News

Northampton will have to be defensively solid if they are to have any chance against the league leaders, and Nolan will turn to a back three of Okinwale Odimayo, Max Dyche and Aaron McGowan to keep out the Blues.

Up top, striker Dara Costelloe will be supported by Cameron McGeehan and Tyler Roberts, who will be looking to build on their goals against Orient last time out.

As for Birmingham, Paik Seung-Ho will start in a duo at the base of midfield alongside Tomoki Iwata this weekend, with Willum Thor Willumsson ahead of them supporting the forward line.

Jay Stansfield is likely to begin the game as a lone striker, but Kieran Dowell and Emil Hansson will be assisting the frontman from out wide.

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:

Burge; Odimayo, Dyche, McGowan; Hoskins, Perry, Taylor, Pinnock; McGeehan, Costelloe, Roberts

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Allsop; Sampsted, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane; Iwata, Paik; Dowell, Willumsson, Hansson; Stansfield

We say: Northampton Town 1-2 Birmingham City

Northampton have definitely improved under Nolan, and the eight-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone will come in handy this weekend as they are unlikely to take anything against Birmingham.

Written by

Anthony Nolan

Previews by email