Preview - The battle continues for Wycombe

Wycombe Wanderers travel to the north of Buckinghamshire on Saturday for their 43rd league game of the season.


The League table currently shows Wycombe in 23rd place with 38 points from 42 games, while their opponents occupy 10th spot with 59 points from 42 games.

Franchise Home Record.............Won 10...Drawn 4...Lost 7.
Wycombe Away Record.............Won 3.....Drawn 8...Lost 10.



Following back-to-back wins over Hartlepool and Tranmere, it's a resurgent Wycombe Wanderers side that travels to Bletchley on Saturday with renewed hope of avoiding the drop.

The Chairboys' new-found grit and determination has seen them edge closer to safety, but with only four games remaining and a six-point gap still to be bridged, it's important that the winning streak continues.

Even the battle-scarred Blues' fans who had written-off their team's survival chances following an abysmal Easter period are now beginning to see a faint glimmer of hope, and why not?

With their makeshift defence having kept two clean-sheets in a row, their midfield energised by the fresh legs of Montrose and Bloomfield and their attacking threat boosted by the emergence of an in-form Alex Revell, Wycombe have nothing to fear on Saturday and could close the gap to just three points if Gillingham lose to promotion-chasing Leeds.

Franchise may be 10th in the table but their recent form is poor. They haven't managed a single win in their last seven games and have scored only once in their last four outings.


Here are all the stats......


Franchise last five games (All Competitions)

LG1: Gillingham (A)........Drew 2-2
LG1: Charlton (H).............Lost 0-1
LG1: Bristol Rovers (A).....Lost 0-1
LG1: Norwich (A)............Drew 1-1
LG1: Oldham (H)............Drew 0-0


Wycombe's last five games (All Competitions)

LG1: Colchester (A).........Drew 1-1
LG1: Huddersfield (H)........Lost 1-2
LG1: Walsall (A)................Lost 1-2
LG1: Hartlepool (H)...........Won 2-0
LG1: Tranmere (A)...........Won 3-0


Franchise Goal Stats (52 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total).........76
Goals Conceded (Total).....75

Goals Scored (Home)........44
Goals Conceded (Home)....37

Clean Sheets....13


Wycombe Goal Stats (46 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total).........54
Goals Conceded (Total).....82

Goals Scored (Away)........27
Goals Conceded (Away)....43

Clean Sheets....7


Franchise Top Goal Scorers (All Competitions)

Jermaine Easter........19 (inc 3 pens)
Aaron Wilbraham......10
Sam Baldock............10 (inc 1 pen)
Jason Puncheon..........8
Mark Carrington.........5
Peter Leven...............4 (inc 3 pens)

Four other players have each scored 2 goals.
Ten other players have each scored 1 goal.


Wycombe's Top Goal Scorers (All Competitions)

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

Three other Wycombe players have each scored 2 goals.
Ten other Wycombe players have each scored 1 goal.


Franchise Shooting (Top-3)

Jermaine Easter.....56 on-target...36 off-target...3 against woodwork
Jason Puncheon.....40 on-target...32 off-target...3 against woodwork
Aaron Wilbraham...35 on-target...21 off-target...3 against woodwork


Wycombe Shooting (Top-3)

Jon-Paul Pittman.....34 on-target...23 off-target...1 against woodwork
Scott Davies...........19 on-target...24 off-target...4 against woodwork
Matt Phillips............21 on-target...20 off-target...2 against woodwork


Shooting (Club)

Franchise....296 on target...197 off target...12 against w'work (Rank- 8)
Wycombe....212 on target...199 off target...11 against w'work (Rank-15)



League Form Guide

All Season
Franchise...Pld: 42...W: 17...D: 8.....L: 17...Pts: 59...Pts per game: 1.40
Wycombe...Pld: 42...W: 8....D: 14....L: 20...Pts: 38...Pts per game: 0.90


Since 1st January 2010
Franchise......Pld: 18...W: 6...D: 5...L: 7...Pts: 23...Pts per game: 1.28
Wycombe......Pld: 18...W: 4...D: 8...L: 6...Pts: 20...Pts per game: 1.11


Against Top Half Opposition
Franchise.......Pld: 21....Pts: 15....Pts per game: 0.71....(Rank-20)
Wycombe.......Pld: 22....Pts: 22....Pts per game: 1.00....(Rank-13)


Against Bottom Half Opposition
Franchise.......Pld: 21....Pts: 44....Pts per game: 2.09....(Rank-6)
Wycombe.......Pld: 20....Pts: 16....Pts per game: 0.80....(Rank-24)


Last Five league Games
Franchise...........DLLDD - 3 points
Wycombe.........DLLWW - 7 points


Last Five League Games (Home)
Franchise.........WWLLD - 7 points


Last Five League Games (Away)
Wycombe.........LDDLW - 5 points



Earlier this season in one of Wycombe's most disappointing performances of the current campaign, Franchise won 1-0 at Adams Park courtesy of Mathias Doumbe's 44th minute strike.


Previous Meetings

2006/07: LG1 Wycombe Lost 3-1 (Away)
2006/07: LG1 Wycombe Lost 2-0 (Home)
2007/08: LG2 Wycombe Drew 1-1 (Home)
2007/08: LG2 Wycombe Drew 2-2 (Away)
2009/10: LG1 Wycombe lost 1-0 (Home)



The Man In The Middle

Saturday's referee is the experienced Scott Mathieson from Cheshire who was promoted to the National List of Referees in 1994. His most recent Wycombe game was last season's crucial 2-1 win at Darlington. During the current campaign he's issued 53 yellow and 2 red cards in 29 games.



Prediction

Franchise 1 Wycombe 2 - The Chairboys to continue their winning streak.



Rivals' Saturday Games

Gillingham v Leeds
Orient v Stockport
Southend v Brighton
Tranmere v Exeter

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