Plymouth Argyle take on second-placed Peterborough United this Tuesday in League One.
Ryan Lowe’s Pilgrims will be hoping for a better away result than Saturday’s 5-1 hammering by Fleetwood Town.
The Posh, who also lost on the weekend at the hands of Neil Critchley’s Blackpool, will be desperate to turn their fortunes around after losing back-to-back league games – something Lowe has never done during his Argyle tenure.
George Cooper will face his former club for the first time after switching clubs in the summer. It seems doubtful he will be handed a start against Posh, with Byron Moore seemingly preferred at left-wing-back.
However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Lowe makes a series of changes to his side after claiming there was "a lack of quality" against Fleetwood.
Pilgrims captain Gary Sawyer will not be one of those considered as the 35-year-old stays out of action with an ankle injury.
Lewis Macleod remains a doubt. The midfielder is back in training, having recovered from a knee injury sustained in Argyle’s 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town back in September.
League One’s top assister Joe Ward is out for Peterborough with a knee injury suffered against Blackpool. He joins 30-year-old Nathan Thompson and teenagers Flynn Clarke and Ricky Jade-Jones on Posh’s physio table.
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Predicted line-ups
Peterborough (3-4-1-2) Pym; Kent, Beevers, Mason; Broom, Brown, Taylor, Butler; Szmodics; Clarke-Harris, Dembele.
Plymouth (3-5-2) M. Cooper; Watts, Opoku, Wootton; Edwards, Fornah, Grant, Mayor, Moore; Jephcott, Nouble.
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Form guide
Both sides have seen their form decline in recent weeks.
Peterborough faced seven sides in the league throughout October, winning six times and drawing once.
November, though, has proved less successful for Darren Ferguson’s team. Back-to-back losses against Crewe Alexandra and Blackpool saw them fall off the top spot, with Saturday’s defeat also putting an end to Peterborough’s unbeaten home record in this calendar year.
Argyle will look to bounce back from their horror performance against Fleetwood, which saw them humbled 5-1.
Before Saturday, the Pilgrims were enjoying a decent spell of form, only losing two of their previous 10 matches.
The Green Army will be hopeful their defeat to the Trawlermen was merely a blip and its business as usual in Cambridgeshire on Tuesday.
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Ones to watch
24-year-old Siriki Dembele has certainly filled the boots of former teammate Ivan Toney, who signed for Championship side Brentford in the summer.
The forward, who joined Posh from Grimsby Town in 2018, has five goals and four assists to his name so far in League One.
Luke Jephcott has been catching eyes since his loan recall from Truro City in January. The striker scored five goals in four starts that month, netting him both the League Two Player of the Month and the EFL Young Player of the Month awards.
Six goals in League One this campaign puts him joint-third top scorer in the division. Four of these came in his last three games, with the 20-year-old in a purple patch of form.
Jephcott missed the Pilgrims’ Sky televised clash with Portsmouth, playing twice for Wales U21s - grabbing an assist in the process.
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Previous meetings
Both sides will play each other for the 36th time this Tuesday.
Peterborough are the current head-to-head leaders, winning 16, losing 14 and sharing the spoils on five occasions.
Argyle last travelled to the Weston Homes Stadium in February 2019, leaving with all three points. The dismissal of 31-year-old Lee Tomlin late on in the first half gave Argyle a foothold in the game. They left it late, but in style, with a perfectly placed, left-footed curl from former fan favourite Ruben Lameiras.
The match has not been selected for television coverage, though, a match pass is available to purchase via either club’s iFollow websites for £10.
Kick-off is 19:00 GMT.
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What has been said
Ferguson seemed optimistic about the fixture, addressing the media on Monday.
“It is honestly about us on Tuesday night. Yes, we look at the opposition, but we have to impose ourselves on the game and try and bounce-back from the last two games.
“Plymouth have some good players and in general, have performed well at this level following their promotion.
“They have been good at home and found it more difficult away from home, but that can change very quickly.”
