Next Up: Away to Wycombe Wanders

So, City end 2012 with yet another nervous home performance and the shocker of conceding an equaliser some time near midnight against a poor Barnet side, and therefore Paul Tisdale must be quite relieved to begin 2013 with an away trip to another side fighting it out at the wrong end of the table. Liam Sercombe limped off against Barnet and is out for 6 weeks with a broken ankle, with Tom Doherty hoping to be able to line up against his former club after a month out with injury. Jamie Cureton was on the bench on Saturday and the 16 goal top scorer will surely be back in the starting line-up in Buckinghamshire, Jimmy Keohane possibly the unlucky player to step aside.

Following relegation and a summer of some turmoil culminating in a supporter-led takeover, the Chairboys could be forgiven for their slow first half of the season, a start which saw Gary Waddock pay the price with his job. Veteran midfielder Gareth Ainsworth was given the job first on a caretaker basis then permanently, and recent form has been pretty decent, most recently a 1-0 win down the A38 on Saturday. Key to their survival would appear to be Matt McClure, the striker is in hot form recently and now has 7 goals from just 9 starts plus 3 sub appearances, and it was he who hit the winner at Plymouth in their last outing.

The reverse fixture saw Wycombe head down to the Park on a Tuesday night in September and yielded a 3-2 victory for City – Ainsworth put Wycombe in front early on before Arron Davies equalised. Ex-City trialist Dean Morgan restored the lead before Cureton immediately levelled. Danny Coles with an audacious back-heel sealed the points for City. Last season it was a Boxing Day to forget for City as a Marcello Trotta hat-trick (Coles for City) inspired a 3-1 home win, Guillem Bauza taking a woeful penalty with the score 1-2. City have yet to record a victory at Adams Park, suffering two draws and two defeats (one in what is now the JPT) in four previous visits.

Match Day officials – http://www.exeweb.com/2012/12/31/match-officials-for-wycombe-wanderers-away/

The Exeweb guide to travel, pubs and the Adams Park – http://www.exeweb.com/2012/08/05/the-things-you-need-to-know-adams-park/