Accrington will look to enter the play off places with victory over League One strugglers Northampton

John Coleman’s Accrington Stanley have been the surprise package of League One so far and they will see Saturday as a big chance to kick on in their promotion dream.

Stanley sit seventh in the table, level on points with Sunderland who hold the final playoff position, albeit Accrington have two games in hand.

Accy come into this one off the back of a 6-1 demolition against Bristol Rovers with stars of the season Dion Charles and Colby Bishop on the scoresheet again with a pair of braces to put down a real statement.

Elsewhere, visitors Northampton cowered along to a 2-0 away defeat to Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. The Cobblers have looked passive and one-dimensional for most of the season and that performance encapsulated their supporters’ concerns.

This is a big opportunity for Keith Curle’s men to address the slide they are in the midst of as they look like a side destined for a relegation scrap towards the back end of the season.

Cobblers were missing the experienced Alan Sheehan and new signing Mickel Miller at Bloomfield Road and it is unclear whether the two vital assets to the side will be available for this one as of yet.

The home side face no new injury concerns ahead of the fixture and their momentum will more than likely have them on the front foot for most of this one.

Both sides play in a 3-5-2 formation generally, however Stanley are much more forward-thinking and fluid in their style, playing through the lines efficiently in order to make use of the attacking outlets at their disposal.

Cobblers are stagnant and languid in style. They look to sit their wing backs in the form of new signing Peter Kioso and Joseph Mills high and wide on the last line of defence, finding them with direct play.

However, there is no confidence from their backline to play out under pressure to find the right ball and more often than not long balls are aimless and it leaves the likes of Sam Hoskins upfront isolated.

Accrington are an aggressive side who look to launch attacks through a press that regains possession in already dangerous positions, this style is something Northampton fundamentally cannot deal with. Hence it would be hard to see past a home win.

That is the main issue with his side. They are poor at retaining the ball, especially under pressure and it makes any form of fluidity in their creative play breakdown before it has even started.

They do not have individual match winners that can drag a goal out of nowhere, therefore it is key that the unit as a whole is a well-oiled machine and it is not even close to being that.

Stanley will be boosted by the additions of deadline day signings Adam Phillips and David Morgan.

“Both are very good footballers, attack-minded an can create and score goals,” Accy boss Coleman said.

Phillips joins on loan from Burnley following a highly successful spell at League Two Morecambe where he portrayed himself as one of the best creative outlets in the division.

Morgan has come in from Southport of the National League North, another shrewd move from Coleman who has had great success in finding players from this division, with Dion Charles coming from the same club.

Both will only add to an already bolstered forward line-up for the club and will offer flexibility in selection as fixtures start to pile up towards the back end of the season.

This game should be a comfortable home victory and this preview has been set up to show the gulf in confidence and momentum that both clubs are experiencing right now. But this is League One, and you can never completely trust a League One prediction.

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