Colchester United Preview

Wycombe Wanderers travel to Colchester United on Saturday for their 38th league game of the season.


The League table currently shows promotion chasing Colchester in 6th place with 64 points from 37 games and the relegation threatened Chairboys in 23rd spot with 31 points from 37 games.

Colchester's home record is......Won 13...Drawn 3...Lost 2.
Wycombe's away record is........Won 2.....Drawn 7...Lost 9.


On the face of it, this should be a home banker.

Only the division's top two sides Norwich City and Leeds United have come away from Colchester with all three points this season and only Norwich and Millwall can better the U's record of 42 points won at home.

On the other hand, Wycombe have only won twice away from home all season, although they can point to a superb 2-0 win at Millwall as evidence of their ability to beat anyone on their day.

Current form however, suggests this might be a closer encounter than many would expect. Neither side has managed to win in their last five games, and Wycombe's four draws and one defeat during this period gives them the edge over Colchester who have drawn twice and lost three times.

In fact, with one win, four draws and just one defeat on their travels in 2010, the Chairboys have picked up as many points in their last six away games as they have in their last nine games at Adams Park.

Both sides still have a lot to play for this season and have reason to be nervous going into Saturday's game.

Colchester currently occupy the final play-off spot and sit just seven points below second-placed Leeds United. They will still harbour hopes of automatic promotion but their recent results will also have them looking over their shoulder at seventh-placed Huddersfield Town who are only three points behind with a superior goal difference. Win on Saturday and the Us could be just 4 points off automatic promotion. Lose, and they could be out of the play-off places altogether.

For Wycombe it's more simple. Seven points below safety and needing to overtake three teams to survive, wins are now the only currency that will buy them more time in this division. But to collect an unexpected three points on Saturday, Gary Waddock's Chairboys will have to pick themselves up quickly after the heartbreak of conceding last-minute equalisers in each of their last two games.

When pondering the likely outcome of Saturday's clash, there's also the old rivalry between the two clubs to take into consideration, but whether that extends beyond the supporters and into the minds of the current players is doubtful and it probably doesn't have much bearing on the result nowadays.


Colchester's last five games (All Competitions)

LG1: Bristol Rovers (A).....Lost 3-2
LG1: Brighton (H)...........Drew 0-0
LG1: Carlisle (A)..............Lost 2-1
LG1: Walsall (A)...............Lost 1-0
LG1: Brentford (H)..........Drew 3-3


Wycombe's last five games (All Competitions)

LG1: Southampton (H).....Drew 0-0
LG1: Stockport (A)............Lost 4-3
LG1: Carlisle (H).............Drew 0-0
LG1: Oldham (A) ............Drew 2-2
LG1: Exeter (H).............. Drew 2-2


Colchester Goal Stats (42 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total).........62
Goals Conceded (Total).....50

Goals Scored (Home)........31
Goals Conceded (Home)....19

Clean Sheets....15


Wycombe Goal Stats (41 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total).........46
Goals Conceded (Total).....77

Goals Scored (Away)........22
Goals Conceded (Away)....40

Clean Sheets....5


Colchester's Top Goal Scorers (All Competitions)

Kevin Lisbie..............11 (inc 4 pens)
Kayode Odejayi........10
Clive Platt..................9
Anthony Wordsworth...8
David Prutton.............3
David Fox..................3
Scott Vernon..............3
John-Joe O'Toole........3

Four other Colchester players have each scored 2 goals.
Two other Colchester players have each scored 1 goal.


Wycombe's Top Goal Scorers (All Competitions)

Matt Harrold.............10 (inc 6 pens)
Jon-Paul Pittman.........9 (inc 1 pen)
Scott Davies...............4
Matt Phillips................3
Kevin Betsy................3
Stuart Beavon............3

Two other Wycombe players have each scored 2 goals.
Nine other Wycombe players have each scored 1 goal.


Colchester Shooting (Top-3)

Anthony Wordsworth.33 on-target...30 off-target...3 against woodwork
Kevin Lisbie..............26 on-target...33 off-target...2 against woodwork
Kayode Odejayi........28 on-target...14 off-target...2 against woodwork


Wycombe Shooting (Top-3)

Jon-Paul Pittman.....30 on-target...20 off-target...1 against woodwork
Scott Davies...........19 on-target...24 off-target...4 against woodwork
Matt Phillips............19 on-target...20 off-target...2 against woodwork


Shooting (Club)

Colchester.223 on target..187 off target.10 against woodwork (Rank-10)
Wycombe..189 on target..174 off target...9 against woodwork (Rank-15)



League Form Guide

All Season
Colchester..Pld: 37...W: 18..D: 10...L: 9...Pts: 64...Pts per game: 1.73
Wycombe...Pld: 37...W: 6...D: 13...L: 18..Pts: 31...Pts per game: 0.84


Since 1st January 2010
Colchester...Pld: 14...W: 5...D: 4...L: 5...Pts: 19...Pts per game: 1.36
Wycombe....Pld: 13...W: 2...D: 7...L: 4...Pts: 13...Pts per game: 1.00


Against Top Half Opposition
Colchester........Pld: 18....Pts: 26....Pts per game: 1.44....(Rank-5)
Wycombe.........Pld: 19....Pts: 17....Pts per game: 0.89....(Rank-16)


Against Bottom Half Opposition
Colchester........Pld: 19....Pts: 38....Pts per game: 2.00....(Rank-7)
Wycombe.........Pld: 18....Pts: 14....Pts per game: 0.77....(Rank-24)


Last Five league Games
Colchester........LDLLD - 2 points
Wycombe........DLDDD - 4 points


Last Five League Games (Home)
Colchester.....WWWDD - 11 points


Last Five League Games (Away)
Wycombe........DWDLD - 6 points



Previous Meetings

Earlier this season the two sides drew 1-1 at Adams Park when Jon-Paul Pittman's late equaliser cancelled out Kayode Odejayi's first half opener.

In 18 previous meetings (excluding non-league games) there have been 5 wins for Colchester, 5 for Wycombe and 8 draws.

In Colchester there have been 3 wins for Wycombe, 2 for Colchester and 3 draws.

1993/94 LG2: Colchester 0 Wycombe 2
1996/97 FAC: Colchester 1 Wycombe 2
1998/99 LG1: Colchester 2 Wycombe 1
1999/00 LG1: Colchester 1 Wycombe 0
2000/01 LG1: Colchester 0 Wycombe 0
2001/02 LG1: Colchester 2 Wycombe 2
2002/03 LG1: Colchester 0 Wycombe 1
2003/04 LG1: Colchester 1 Wycombe 1



The Man In The Middle

Saturday's referee is Steve Cook from Surrey who was promoted to the National List of referees in 2007. His most recent Wycombe game was the 5-2 defeat at home to Brighton in December. So far this season he's issued 111 yellow and 9 red cards in 25 games.


Prediction

Score Draw

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