Joey Barton’s side make the two-hour trip east to National League North side Guiseley AFC for their Emirates FA Cup second round tie on Monday night at Nethermoor Park.
The two sides, who are 76 places apart in the footballing ladder, will play in front the TV cameras next week as Town hope to reach the third round for only the fourth time in their history.
After a convincing win against Coventry City at Highbury on Tuesday night, Joey Barton will be hoping to avoid any possible cup upset against the Lions.
Marcus Bignot & Russ O’Neill’s side welcome the Cod Army after knocking out Sky Bet League Two outfit Cambridge United in the previous round, beating Joe Dunne’s side 4-3 on the day.
Town boss Joey Barton said…
“They’re a good side, obviously they’ve taken a league scalp in Cambridge last time out. We’ve got to be on our mantle, we’ve got to be ready for what the game brings. There will be a number of things to factor in from pitches, to the TV being there and that underdog feeling around the FA Cup. For us it’s about being professional, preparing for it the best we can. The reality of it is, Guiseley will need us to have an off day and they’ll need to play close to their maximum in order to progress, we know that.
“We’re just intent on controlling what we can control. I’ll prepare the team exactly the same for Guiseley as I would for Manchester United. They deserve the respect, they’re in the cup on merit, if you do have that little bit of complacency anywhere, the FA Cup can have a nasty habit of leaving you with egg on your face. The intent from us will be to go there and process into the third round of the cup, but we’ve got to be mindful that this is an FA Cup tie, we’ve got to be fully professional about it.”
The last five…
AFC Guiseley: D L D L D (16th on 20 points in National League North)
Fleetwood Town: W L D L W (12th on 27 points in Sky Bet League One)
Last time we met
The last time the two sides met was ten years ago in the Northern Premier League. The two sides played a 2-2 draw in front of 646 spectators at Highbury. The Cod Army went onto to be crowned champion that year on their journey to the Football League.
One to Watch
Rowan Liburd joined Guiseley initially on loan in 2017, the centre-forward spent time on loan at Leyton Orient, Hemel Hempstead Town as well as the Lions before making the move permanent to Nethermoor Park in December.
The former Reading front-man spent his youth career at Chelsea before travelling to the United States on a four-year college scholarship for the Thomas Night Hawks, where he won the Sun Conference Player of the Year award. Liburd returned to the UK to sign for Billericay Town before spending a season at The Madejski and Wycombe Wanderers respectively.
The number nine currently has five goals to his name this season and will be looking to carry on the Lions FA Cup dream.
Betting Preview
Joey Barton’s side go into the game strong favourites who are looking to carry on their good form from Tuesday’s victory against Coventry. They are priced at 8/15 to go through to the third round of the FA Cup.
Guiseley welcome Town as expected underdogs. The Lions, who are looking for another league scalp, are at 5/1 to cause an upset.
For Fleetwood to ease their way into the next round with a 1-0 win, the odds are at 6/1. While a repeat of Tuesday’s scoreline sees a 3-0 Fleetwood win priced at 9/1.
Joint-favourites to grab the first goal of the game see Paddy Madden and Ched Evans at 7/2. Lewie Coyle to grab the first goal of the game sees him priced at a long shot of 50/1.
You can check out many other offers on SkyBet here. All odds are subject to change.