Fleetwood will be hoping to capitalise on Wycombe’s poor away form when they meet for the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final.
Gareth Ainsworth’s side may have finished the regular season above Fleetwood based on points-per-game but their poor away form during the season means they will have to embrace the underdogs tag in this opening leg.
Fleetwood took four points off Wycombe during the regular season and have the joint-best home record in League One this term.
Wycombe Wanderers finished third in the League One table after the points-per-game formula was agreed, despite being in eighth place when football was stopped. Ainsworth will be looking to maintain Wycombe Wanderers’ upwards momentum by guiding them into the Championship following a 16-year absence.
The prolonged gap between games means that Fleetwood Town and Wycombe Wanderers have a fully-fit squad to choose from on Friday.
Fleetwood Town coach Joey Barton was disappointed not to have the chance to build upon the momentum of a 12-game unbeaten run but they are not taking Wycombe Wanderers lightly.
For us, finishing in the play-offs is a huge achievement, but our relentlessness as a group and our desire to push on that has stopped us patting each other on the back. We don’t think we’ve got the job done.
Away manager Gareth Ainsworth says that promotion into the Championship would be a great avhievement following their league position before lockdown.
It will be as big an achievement as you’ve seen in football for a team like Wycombe to be competing in the Championship next year. It doesn’t even feel real talking like that. It would just be unbelievable, and it’s possible, which is magnificent, and it shows how well the players have done this season.
The game is live at 7:30pm on Sky Sports Football.
EFL
English Football