Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs. Cheltenham Town - prediction, team news, lineups

The Pilgrims snatched an important point in the dying minutes of their contest with third-placed Ipswich Town last time out, while the visitors sit 18th after three straight defeats in England's third tier.

Match preview

Plymouth Argyle find themselves in a strong position in the fight for automatic promotion to the Championship this season, as Steven Schumacher's side lead third-placed Ipswich Town by seven points having won 17 of their opening 27 matches while only losing three.

Following a brief dip in form between mid-November and mid-December, the Pilgrims bounced back in style with four straight three-point hauls in the third tier, beating Morecambe, Cheltenham Town, Wycombe Wanderers and MK Dons to move onto 56 points from 25 games, with the 1-0 beating of Saturday's opponent coming courtesy of Morgan Whittaker's 78th-minute goal.

Aiming to make it five on the bounce and further stretch their lead at the top after making a winning start to the new year, Schumacher's men then travelled to take on Bolton Wanderers but had to settle for a point in a goalless stalemate, before triumphing 2-0 away at Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy quarter-finals thanks to goals from Ben Waine and Ryan Hardie to book another contest with Cheltenham in the semi-finals in February.

Having then gone eight games unbeaten in all competitions, Plymouth travelled to Suffolk for a crucial clash with Ipswich last time out, and they looked set to fall to a harmful defeat as the hosts led 1-0 through Wes Burns going into the dying minutes, only for Bali Mumba to produce an injury-time equaliser to force a share of the spoils and ensure their cushion remained healthy at seven points.

Their lead over second-placed Sheffield Wednesday has been cut to three points, however, and with the Owls and Ipswich both having a game in hand on the league leaders, Schumacher's men will be keen to make a swift return to winning ways to avoid being caught up in the coming weeks.

They welcome a Cheltenham side who will hope to break a run of three straight defeats in the third tier, having also lost five of their last six league matches including that one-goal defeat at home to Plymouth on Boxing Day.

They did follow that up with an important 1-0 triumph away at Shrewsbury Town, thanks to Dan N'Lundulu's first-half goal, but have been unable to put another point on the board since, firstly falling to 2-1 losses away at Bristol Rovers and Morecambe.

A 3-1 victory over Salford City in the EFL Trophy quarter-finals did then provide cause for renewed optimism, as Ryan Broom, Liam Sercombe and Will Goodwin all got on the scoresheet to book their place in the final four, before the Robins faced a tough test at home to fourth-placed Derby County last time out.

Wade Elliott's side would take an instant lead in that contest through Caleb Taylor, but they trailed inside 15 minutes as Conor Hourihane and Max Bird got on the scoresheet for the visitors, and after Tom Barkhuizen netted the Rams' third, Alfie May's 77th-minute goal was not enough to spark another turnaround, with Cheltenham coming away empty-handed.

While they cannot be too disappointed with that performance against one of the league's form teams, the run of defeats has seen the Robins drop to 18th spot, and given that they only lead the drop zone by four points, they will be desperate to turn their form around, starting with what would be an impressive result at Home Park.

Plymouth Argyle League One form:

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Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

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Cheltenham Town League One form:

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Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):

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Team News

With wing-back Joe Edwards returning to contention after being suspended last time out, Plymouth Argyle's only enforced absentee should be defender Brendan Galloway due to an injury, and James Wilson, Dan Scarr and Nigel Lonwijk will likely continue to form a back three in his absence.

They were harmed by attacker Morgan Whittaker returning to parent club Swansea City at the beginning of the January transfer window, though, after he contributed nine goals and seven assists in the first half of the League One season, leaving the likes of Ryan Hardie, Niall Ennis, Sam Cosgrove and Danny Mayor to fight for attacking spots.

Hardie has notched up 11 goals in all competitions so far this season and should feature from the outset, as should Ennis who has contributed eight goals and four assists in the third tier this campaign.

Cheltenham Town's attack should again be led by Alfie May, who netted his eighth goal in just his 18th League One appearance of the season last time out against Derby, with Will Goodwin set to partner the 29-year-old.

The Robins should also line up with a back three, and Caleb Taylor will likely be joined again by Sean Long and Tom Bradbury in front of Reading loanee Luke Southwood between the sticks.

Liam Sercombe has been a relative mainstay in midfield and will again operate in the engine room, while Ryan Broom should play just behind the front two against the club he spent the season on loan with last term.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Wilson, Scarr, Lonwijk; Mumba, Randell, Houghton, Edwards; Mayor; Hardie, Ennis

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Long, Taylor, Bradbury; Jackson, Bonds, Sercombe, Ferry; Broom; May, Goodwin

We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Cheltenham Town

Plymouth will be desperate to return to winning ways sooner rather than later and will likely see Saturday as a great opportunity to do so on home turf.

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