Preview: Swindon Town v Wycombe Wanderers

Wycombe Wanderers travel to Swindon Town on Saturday for their ninth League One fixture of the season.


Swindon are are currently 7th in the table with 13 points from their opening 8 league games.

The Robins may have started the season with a depressing 5-0 defeat at the hands of newly promoted Gillingham, but they've recovered well and the only team to have beaten them since are Premiership side Wolverhampton Wanderers who triumphed on penalties after their Carling Cup 2nd round tie at Molineux remained 0-0 after extra time.

Last season the Robins finished 15th in League One with 53 points, the season before they were 13th with 61 points and the year before that they won automatic promotion from League Two.

The County Ground has a capacity of 15.728 and has been home to Swindon Town since it opened in 1896.

Danny Wilson has been their manager since December 2008. He previously took Barnsley into the Premier League in 1997 and has since won automatic promotion to League One with Hartlepool in 2007.


Robins on target

Five different players have scored for Swindon in all competitions so far this season Their top marksman is Billy Paynter with four goals to his name. Temitope Obadeyi and Jon-Paul McGovern have each scored twice.


Shooting (Top-3)

Billy Paynter...............8 on-target...6 off-target...0 against woodwork
Jon-Paul McGovern......5 on-target...2 off-target...1 against woodwork
Temitope Obadeye......3 on-target...4 off-target...0 against woodwork


Swindon's season so far

LG1: Gillingham (A)..........Lost 5-0
Ccp: Franchise (A)...........Won 4-1
LG1: Franchise (H)..........Drew 0-0
LG1: Southampton (H).....Won 1-0
LG1: Oldham (A)............Drew 2-2
Ccp: Wolves (A).............Drew 0-0 (lost 6-5 on pens)
LG1: Southend (H)...........Won 2-1
LG1: Yeovil (A)...............Won 1-0
LG1: Colchester (H)........Drew 1-1
LG1: Walsall (A).............Drew 1-1


Swindon's summer signings

Scott Cuthbert (Celtic) Defender
Jonathan Douglas (Leeds United) Midfielder
Gordon Greer (Doncaster Rovers) Defender
Jakub Jesionkowski (Zagłębie Lubin) Goalkeeper
David Lucas (Leeds United) Goalkeeper
Alan O'Brien (Hibernian) Midfielder
Tope Obadeyi (Bolton Wanderers) Striker On-Loan
Alex Revell (Southend United) Striker On-Loan
Simon Ferry (Celtic) Midfielder On-Loan
Ben Hutchinson (Celtic) Striker On-Loan



The Chairboys are currently 22nd in the table with 5 points from their opening 8 league games.

After last Saturday's toothless first-half performance, it's likely that Chairboys' manager Peter Taylor will make several changes to his starting line-up for this match.

It would be no surprise to see Chris Zebroski moved up-front to accommodate the impressive Kevin Betsy on the right flank, while Jon-Paul Pittman and Matt Phillips will also be in the manager's mind after their introductions at half time on Saturday changed the game considerably.

Lewis Hunt is back in contention for his first start of the season, but It looks like midfield maestro Tommy Doherty is still unfit to play. Matt Bloomfield is a definite non-starter as he continues to recover from the horrific injury he suffered against Peterborough United in the Carling Cup.



Chairboys on target

Five different players have scored for Wycombe in all competitions this season and their top marksman is Jon-Paul Pittman with 4 goals. Chris Zebroski and Matt Harrold have 2 goals apiece.


Shooting (Top-3)

Jon-Paul Pittman.....8 on-target...5 off-target...0 against woodwork
Stuart Green..........6 on-target...7 off-target...0 against woodwork
Chris Zebroski........7 on-target...3 off-target...0 against woodwork


Wycombe's season so far

LG1: Charlton (A)............Lost 3-2
Ccp: Peterborough (H).....Lost 4-0
LG1: Leeds (H)................Lost 1-0
LG1: Southend (H).........Drew 1-1
LG1: Norwich (A)............Lost 5-2
LG1: Bristol Rovers (H)...Won 2-1
JPT: Northampton (H)....Drew 2-2 (lost 3-0 on pens)
LG1: Brighton (A)............Lost 1-0
LG1: Hartlepool (A).......Drew 1-1
LG1: Franchise (H) .........Lost 1-0



League form comparison

Swindon:......Pld-8...W-3...D-4...L-1...Pts-13...GF-8...GA-10...CS-3

Wycombe:....Pld-8...W-1...D-2...L-5....Pts-4....GF-8...GA-14...CS-0


Swindon at Home.....Pld-4...W-2...D-2...L-0...Pts-8...GF-4...GA-2

Wycombe Away.......Pld-4...W-0...D-1...L-3...Pts-1...GF-5...GA-10


Previous Meetings at The County Ground

1995/96: LG1 Swindon 0 Wycombe 0
1998/99: Lcp. Swindon 2 Wycombe 1
2000/01: LG1 Swindon 1 Wycombe 1
2000/01: FLT. Swindon 2 Wycombe 1
2001/02: LG1 Swindon 1 Wycombe 1
2002/03: Lcp. Swindon 1 Wycombe 2
2002/03: LG1 Swindon 0 Wycombe 3
2003/04: LG1 Swindon 2 Wycombe 0
2005/06: Lcp. Swindon 1 Wycombe 3
2006/07: LG2 Swindon 2 Wycombe 1

4 wins for Swindon, 3 wins for Wycombe and 3 draws.


The Man In The Middle

Saturday's referee is Andy Hall from the West Midlands. He joined the National List of referees in 1997 and his most recent Wycombe game was last season's 1-1 draw with Chesterfield at Adams Park.



If Wycombe play like they did in the first half on Saturday we're doomed.

However, working on the assumption that Peter Taylor realises that more than anyone and will therefore select a team and formation capable of doing more than just soak-up pressure, plus the fact it's a nice day and I'm feeling optimistic, I'll go for a surprising win for the Chairboys.

Prediction

Swindon 1 Wycombe 2

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