Fleetwood Town travel to the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday afternoon to face Burton Albion in Sky Bet League One, and we have all you need to know in our match preview.
Fixture: Burton Albion v Fleetwood Town
Competition: Sky Bet League One
Date: Saturday 11 January 2020
Kick-off: 15:00 (GMT)
Venue: Pirelli Stadium, Princess Way, Burton-on-Trent, DE13 0AR
Match officials: Josh Smith (Referee) Andrew Hendley & Craig Taylor (Assistants) Gareth Mellor (Fourth Official)
Saturday’s match at The Pirelli will be Mr Smith’s fourth match in Sky Bet League One this season. One of the previous three League One matches that Mr Smith officiated was Town’s 2-1 home victory against Tranmere back in November.
The official has overseen 15 games in all competitions this year, handing out 37 yellow cards, four reds and one penalty in the process.
FLEETWOOD TOWN
Picking up the League One campaign from the 1-1 draw with Sunderland on New Year’s Day, Joey Barton’s side will be looking to gain maximum points as they take on Burton this weekend.
When Burton came up to Highbury back in October, Town swept them aside with a dominant 4-1 win, goals coming from Ched Evans and hattrick hero, Paddy Madden.
With the permanent signing of Lewie Coyle on a three-and-a-half year deal and new loan signing Callum Connolly from Premier League side Everton, The Cod Army have plenty of reason to cheer coming into this fixture and will look to extend their 5-match unbeaten run in the league.
BURTON ALBION
Nigel Clough’s side have picked up 3 wins in the last 5 league games, including wins against Rochdale, Tranmere and a 4-3 thriller over 10-man Bolton on New Year’s Day.
And with those wins over Rochdale and Tranmere coming at home, The Brewers are in fine home form coming into this game, so Barton’s Town will have to be on top form to get something from the match.
Strikers Lucas Akins and Liam Boyce have had their fair share of goals over the last 4 games, scoring 8 goals between them. But with Burton not keeping a clean sheet since October, The Cod Army could look to exploit Burton’s record.
ONE TO WATCH – LUCAS AKINS
A modest seven goals and three assists is not the only story when it comes to Lucas Akins. The attacker has been an ever-present so far for Nigel Clough’s side this season and is a dangerous threat for Town fans to keep an eye out for.
With his last two goals and a man-of-the-match award coming in that 4-3 win over Bolton, Akins is currently in fine form and has formed a formidable partnership with fellow attacker Liam Boyce over recent weeks, with the pair scoring 8 goals in 4 games.
The forward started his career at Huddersfield, making his debut in the first team in 2007. Following spells at the likes of Hamilton, Partick Thistle, Tranmere and Stevenage – where he made 66 appearances - Akins made his way to Burton in 2014 where he was signed as a free agent by current Millwall boss Gary Rowett to strengthen the front line.
207 league appearances and 51 goals later, the now 30-year-old is one of the first names on the team sheet for Clough’s side and could prove to be a dangerous threat on Saturday.
HOW TO WATCH THE GAME ON iFOLLOW
If you’re not travelling with us for the away trip to Burton, we can keep you up to date on all the action as it happens on iFollow.
Supporters based in the United Kingdom, Ireland will be able to listen to full match commentary for £2.50, with fans around the world able to live stream the full match, whilst listening to full match commentary for just £10! BUY YOUR MATCH PASS HERE!
If you want to know more about iFollow, and find out ways to support the Cod Army, click HERE. (terms and conditions)
Any further questions on iFollow Fleetwood, please contact sam.fielding@fleetwoodtownfc.com.
HOW TO BACK THE LADS AT BURTON
Tickets are on sale, with prices as follows:
Adults - £22
Concessions - £20
U17s - £12
*The prices above will be increased by £2 if purchased on the day.
Coach travel for the match is also on sale, with the price just £5 for Onward Card holders and £15 for all other supporters. Coaches will be departing Highbury at 10:00am.
To book your tickets for this fixture, please contact the ticket office on 01253 775080 or visit the club shop between 9am and 5pm weekdays, 9am to 1pm Saturday non-matchdays or on matchdays at Highbury Stadium.
WHAT BARRY NICHOLSON HAD TO SAY
“We know Burton, we know what they’re all about. They’re a really aggressive team that press without the ball, so if we’re not right it’ll be a difficult afternoon for us. We’ll concentrate on what we do well and hopefully go into the game with the right mindset and confidence to get the three points.
“They’ve got good players going forward, [Liam] Boyce, [Lucas] Akins, [David] Templeton in the front line, so we’ve got to be solid with our defensive shape and we can hurt them with our ability.
“It’ll be no easy game, we’ve got to be ready for them because there will be a response.”
THOUGHTS FROM BURTON – NIGEL CLOUGH
“They will have been hoping that they would have taken it on having had that run. But it has happened to a few teams who get up there, look like they will take it on and don’t - and we are just the same. All of a sudden, you lose two or three or don’t win games you think you are going to and then you are back in the chasing pack.
“But with the backing Fleetwood have got they are more than capable of reaching that top six. With Paddy Madden, Paul Coutts and Ched Evans they have that quality in the right areas to achieve that.
“Not many teams have gone on a really good run which is why you see it so bunched up.
“We should have had an unbeaten run over Christmas. We got three victories, but it should have been ten points not nine and that’s what we have to look at over the next six weeks – trying to put an unbeaten run together.
“It’s not easy as on any given day you slip slightly and the opposition get a break and you lose - it’s very difficult over a number of games to have that consistency at our level.”
SKY BET’S BETTING ODDS
You can get a price of 9/5 for The Cod Army to pick up all three points against Burton
If you think Joey Barton’s side will win and BTTS, you can get odds of 5/1.
Here are some odds of players to score first or last:
Paddy Madden: 4/1
Ched Evans: 5/1
Josh Morris: 6/1
Wes Burns: 9/1
Paul Coutts: 28/1
For more odds on SkyBet, CLICK HERE. Please remember to bet and gamble responsibly.
