Fleetwood Town welcome Tranmere Rovers to Highbury Stadium on Saturday 23 November, and we have all you need to know ahead of the 3pm kick-off on the Fylde Coast.
Fixture: Fleetwood Town v Tranmere Rovers
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 23 November 2019
Kick-Off: 15:00
Venue: Highbury Stadium, Park Avenue, Fleetwood, FY7 6TX
THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Josh Smith is the man in charge of Saturday’s encounter against Tranmere Rovers.
The physical education and mathematics teacher achieved promotion to the EFL as a referee at the beginning of this season, and this will be his third match as a League One referee, with most of his fixtures lying in League Two.
Assisting the joint youngest EFL referee will be Richard Barlett and Peter Gooch, with Danny Gratton named as the Fourth Official.
FLEETWOOD TOWN
Fleetwood sit in 8th position in the table ahead of this weekend’s match, although they do have games in hand on the teams above them. With no match action for the hosts last weekend due to the international break, the last time that Joey Barton’s men were in action was the 5-2 thrashing of Oldham Athletic in the EFL Trophy, last Wednesday.
The Cod Army’s home form is one of the best in the league, with just one defeat at Highbury this season, against Ipswich Town, the only teams to better that are Wycombe Wanderers, and Coventry City.
Barton will have a full complement to select from on Saturday, after the players have been able to “recharge their batteries” ahead of tomorrow’s match.
TRANMERE ROVERS
Tranmere Rovers come into this encounter sitting in 18th position after last weekend’s fixtures, which involved them losing to top of the league, Wycombe Wanderers at Prenton Park.
With back-to-back promotions already ticked off, Rovers’ fans were very optimistic heading into this season and all things considered, it has not been a bad start for Micky Mellon & his side.
Although Tranmere will come into this fixture with a lot of confidence after the performance against Wycombe, 210 minutes of football has been played by the visitors in seven days, while Town have had more time to rest and recover.
Liam Ridehalgh was the latest man to join the side-lines after fracturing his foot last weekend against Wycombe Wanderers. However he may feature if his late fitness test is successful. Other players on the injury list include, Mark Ellis (knee), Evan Gumbs (knee), Ollie Banks (knee), Harvey Gilmour (knee), Ishmael Miller (hamstring) and Jordan Ponticelli.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
One to watch for the visitors this weekend is Scott Davies – who was at Fleetwood for five years - has been instrumental in the success period for Micky Mellon over the past two seasons. ]Kieron Morris is another player who Town fans will want to keep their eye on. The midfielder has shown what he has to offer so far this campaign, and after scoring three goals in 21 matches.
WHAT JOEY BARTON HAD TO SAY
Fleetwood Town head coach Joey Barton was on media duty ahead of the match against Micky Mellon’s Tranmere Rovers, and here is what he had to say:
“We are heading into a block now on the back of November, December and then the festive period with the games coming thick and fast. We have six or seven games ahead with maybe one more to schedule in.
“We wanted to make sure that we recharged the batteries, and now the lads are chomping at the bit to get into games and we are looking forward to getting back to business against Tranmere at home on Saturday.”
You can listen to the full interview on iFollow.
TICKET INFORMATION
After two cup victories, the Cod Army are back in league action on Saturday against Tranmere Rovers in the North West clash, and you can be a part of it!
Adults tickets start from just £24, Seniors £19 and Under 16s from £9! You don't want to miss this one, so get your hands on your tickets now!
Tickets are available to purchase online, in person at the Highbury Stadium club shop or by calling 01253 775080.
BETTING ODDS
For Fleetwood to return to league action with a win on Saturday you can get odds of 8/15 while you can get a draw at 3/1.
For Joey Barton’s side to win & both teams to score at Highbury, it’s an incredible 11/4.
For Paddy Madden to get the Cod Army off to a flyer, you can get odds of 3/1 for the forward to strike first!
Players to score at any time in the 90 minutes:
Ched Evans – EVENS
Josh Morris – 17/10
Wes Burns – 23/10
Harry Souttar – 13/2
For more odds, head to Sky Bet, click HERE. Please remember to bet and gamble responsibly.
FOLLOW TOWN ON iFOLLOW
Can’t make the game on Saturday? Well don’t worry as with iFollow Fleetwood, you won’t miss any of the action!
Fans overseas will be able to watch the game for £10, with those based in the United Kingdom will only have access to the Audio Match Pass, which will cost just £2.50
For more details, head over to the iFollow subscription page.
