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

The visitors, meanwhile, have lost two successive matches during the festive period.

Match preview

Likewise, it has not been a jolly Christmas for Shrewsbury, with two consecutive defeats seeing them fall to 14th in the table ahead of hosting Fleetwood on New Years Day.

Steve Cotterill will be concerned about a lack of discipline setting in among his ranks, having seen a player dismissed in each of their recent losses.

Salop were already trailing 1-0 at home to Cheltenham when an altercation between Luke Leahy and Charlie Raglan saw both players given their marching orders, with Dan Nlundulu's first half strike always looking likely to settle the match from that point onwards.

As such, Cotterill will be desperate for his side to bounce back and begin 2023 with a victory, especially with a return to the top half of the table up for grabs if they can do so.

Until recently, Fleetwood had been one of the toughest sides to beat in the entire division, losing just five of their opening 21 league matches.

However, back-to-back defeats means that Scott Brown's side are now only four points clear of the relegation zone, having only avoided a return to League Two by virtue of goal difference last season.

As such, Brown's first ever managerial role was always likely to be a slow burner, but the former Scotland midfielder's tenacity as a player has translated to Fleetwood in a relatively short space of time.

Indeed, there is no disgrace in losing to the likes of Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley, but a third straight defeat away to Shrewsbury on Sunday would potentially place an entirely different complexion on the start the 37-year-old has made at the club.

Shrewsbury Town League One form:

L

L

W

W

L

L

Shrewsbury Town form (all competitions):

L

W

W

W

L

L

Fleetwood Town League One form:

D

L

D

W

L

L

Fleetwood Town form (all competitions):

L

W

D

W

L

L

Team News

Shrewsbury will be without Ryan Bowman and Leahy due to suspension after their recent red cards, while Julien Da Costa is sidelined through injury.

Elliott Bennett could replace his captain and teammate Leahy in midfield.

Fleetwood, meanwhile, will travel without defenders Michael Devlin and Darnell Johnson due to ankle and Achilles tendon issues respectively.

Shaun Rooney could come straight back into the defence after serving a one-match suspension for Thursday's 2-1 defeat to Barnsley.

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:

Marosi; Pennington, Dunkley, Flanagan; Moore, Winchester, Bennett, Shipley; Bayliss; Street, Saydee

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:

Lynch; Rooney, Nsiala, Earl, Johnston; Sarpong-Wiredu, Warrington, Vela; Morton, Garner, Gomes

We say: Shrewsbury Town 1-1 Fleetwood Town

With both teams heading into this clash off the back of two successive defeats, we could envisage the respective managers being content with a point apiece to stop the rot, especially having had less than 72 hours to prepare for Sunday's meeting.

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