The games keep coming thick and fast in Sky Bet League 2, with all 12 teams in action once again during the week.
The Sky Live game on Monday evening sees Gary Waddock take charge of his first game as Oxford United manager away at Southend United. The visitors picked up a crucial win against Hartlepool on Friday, a first win in seven, to consolidate their position in the top seven. Phil Brown’s Shrimpers however have endured a torrid run of no wins in 12 League games, resulting in them dropping out of the play-off places. A win tonight will propel back into the top seven for 24 hours at least, but they will be wary of the new manager factor within the U’s dressing room.
League leaders Rochdale will look to open up a nine-point gap to fourth on Tuesday evening, when they entertain a free-falling Portsmouth side at Spotland. Three consecutive wins has seen Keith Hill’s side reach the summit of the division, and victory tomorrow could see them go five points clear at the top, firmly cementing their position in the automatic promotion spots. It’s a different story at Fratton Park though. Richie Barker’s side have won just once in their last seven matches, resulting in them slipping very close to the bottom two, just a place and three points clear. An upturn in form is desperately needed to avoid the dreaded drop.
Scunthorpe United went second at the weekend thanks to victory over Burton, and a win at Cheltenham Town could see them go top, that's only if Rochdale fail to beat Portsmouth. Russ Wilcox has done a quite remarkable job since taking over as permanent boss in December, and has yet to taste defeat in the League as Iron manager, seeing them rise into the automatic promotion spots. They face a tricky trip to Mark Yates’ Robins, who will no doubt be hurting following that staggering 4-3 defeat at AFC Wimbledon, although will take heart from their last three home games, where they have taken seven points from nine.
Third place Chesterfield’s one win in six matches has seen them slip from the top, but know a win over Morecambe could see them replace Rochdale at the top once again. They will no doubt be looking to go into their Football League Trophy final against Peterborough United on Sunday on the back of a win, especially after their indifferent League form. There promises to be goals, with the visitors having kept a division's joint-worst six clean sheets all season. The recent inconsistency of Jim Bentley’s side suggests another season in the fourth tier beckons for the Shrimps, and with only five away wins all season, it’s unlikely they’ll derail the home side’s promotion push.
Fleetwood Town suffered a surprise defeat at Exeter on Saturday, but will be looking to close the gap to the top three when they entertain another side near the wrong end of the division, in the form of Bristol Rovers. The Pirates haven’t won in three after an unbeaten run of six games looked to have secured League Two status for another season, but John Ward’s side are now firmly back in the relegation dog-fight, lying just four points above the dotted line. The home side aren’t exactly firing on all cylinders at the moment, two wins in eight games is hardly promotion form, but they are only six points behind the automatic promotion spots. A win here is a must to keep their automatic hopes alive.
Burton’s defeat at Scunthorpe spoiled their decent unbeaten run of five matches, and they’ll look to get back to winning ways against Gareth Ainsworth’s Wycombe Wanderers. The visitors, along with Portsmouth, are just three points clear of the bottom two, and need to find a way to get out of a run of three defeats in four matches, or else seriously jeopardise their Football League status. Burton on the other hand are six points off the top three and, like Fleetwood, will want to put pressure on those sides above them.
Five wins in five have seen York City climb into seventh place, and they will be overwhelming favourites to extend that run against bottom side Torquay United. The Gulls are looking likely to drop out of the Football League come the end of the season, despite a few positive results against Rochdale and Bury in recent weeks. The six point gap between them safety can be made up, but that will require getting something from a difficult trip to Nigel Worthington’s in-form team.
Exeter City’s sensational win over Fleetwood saw them climb from third bottom to 17th in the division, but they face another tough trip to a play-off chasing side in the form of Plymouth Argyle. The Pilgrims have won five of their last eight League matches, and have only lost five times at Home Park all season, helping to lift them up to the fringes of the play-off places. The visitors are five points clear of danger after a first home win since October on Saturday, but face a tall order to get anything from Tuesday night’s encounter.
Northampton Town’s one defeat in eight League games has seen them climb to within three points of safety, and they could finally get out of the bottom two if they beat AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday. A Portsmouth defeat will also be needed, but Chris Wilder’s side have only lost one of their last five League home matches, and will go into the game hoping for a positive result. High on confidence will definitely be the Dons, whose last-gasp 4-3 over Cheltenham saw them win for the first time this month.
Newport County ended a poor run of eight games without a win by beating Torquay at the weekend, and will be looking to make it back-to-back successes by overcoming Bury. The visitors have drawn four of their last five games, but remain very much in the relegation battle, lying just five points clear of the drop. Another team far from safe is Mansfield Town, who travel to Hartlepool United, who still have play-off ambitions, albeit six points off the top seven. The home side are just a point better off than Bury in 18th, and a win here will go some way to ensuring fourth tier football remains at the Globe Arena next season.
Finally, Accrington Stanley have jumped from third bottom to 16th in the space of seven days, and will look to keep climbing when they travel to Dagenham and Redbridge. The Daggers are five points off the play-off places, no doubt helped by an unbeaten run of six matches, but will probably need all three points tomorrow night to keep that play-off dream intact.
With just seven games to go after this round of fixtures, time is running out for sides looking to save themselves from relegation, and to gate-crash the automatic promotion and play-off spots. All 12 games have at least one, usually both, teams playing for something, making it another crucial and likely unpredictable few days in League Two.