Next Up: Accrington Stanley Away

Fit and refreshed after the FA Cup break, City travel to East Lancashire hoping to turn talk of a 7-match winless streak into that of a 3-match unbeaten run. Paul Tisdale has an almost fully-fit squad to choose from for the Accrington match so will have plenty of options. Up front Tom Nichols continues to press his case for a start having scored in the 2-2 draw with Bury, with Tisdale possibly set to gamble on a 3-man attack, although that would likely mean the impressive David Wheeler misses out, so Tisdale may look to go with just two from Gow, Nichols, Parkin and O’Flynn to start with. Pat Baldwin too is pushing for a recall but that would mean unseating Scot Bennett unless Tisdale pushed Bennett up into midfield. It’s probably a better headache to have too many options than too few!

The club that gave itself the epithet “The club that wouldn’t die” (even though it did, twice) has continued to confound those who automatically lump on them for relegation and is now in its 8th season as a Football League club. This has not been without its problems, with crowds barely breaking four figures and regular battles with HMRC, but Accrington continue to fight on. The club took a bold step in promoting player/coach James Beattie to manager in the summer and though it took a while for the ex-England international to get things going (they didn’t record a win in the league until late October) recent form has picked up, and Stanley currently sit in 19th place in the table. There was the obligatory cup giant-killing, this time away to Middlesbrough in the first round of the Capital One Cup. Key to their recent upturn has been the loan signing of Kayode Odejayi, the giant striker has been around a bit and always contributed wherever he has been, and he currently has four goals to his name. Alongside him is Danny Webber, another striker with plenty of higher level experience, who has three goals, while defender Peter Murphy (four goals) will have to be watched at set pieces.

City hold the upper hand when it comes to the head-to-head record against Accrington, with 6 wins to Accrington’s 3 (one draw). Last season saw City do the double, winning 3-0 at the Crown Ground in August – Gow with two including that memorable “rabona” and Bauza with the other, while a late Jimmy Keohane double clinched the points back at the Park in February.

Match Officials: http://www.exeweb.com/2013/12/11/match-officials-accrington-stanley-away/

Ground Guide: http://www.exeweb.com/2012/06/13/the-things-you-need-to-know-the-the-crown-ground/