Fleetwood will be looking to end a run of three games without a win as they host promotion hopefuls Accrington at Highbury

Simon Grayson will be looking for his Fleetwood side to end their three game run without a win against Accrington.

Both sides are off the back of 2-0 away defeats in midweek against Sunderland and Crewe respectively and will be hopeful of improvement performances in front of goal in this one.

For the hosts, those forward woes will be harder to address as their second top scorer Paddy Madden misses this one, although defensively they will be boosted by the return of Charlie Mulgrew from his isolation period.

John Coleman has no new concerns going into this one and expects to see more from his forward pairing Dion Charles and Colby Bishop who have served his side with distinction so far this campaign.

Grayson’s side sit 17th in the table after a poor campaign that saw Joey Barton leave Highbury in recent times and they will need to start picking up points before they edge closer to the relegation places.

On the other hand, Stanley have been mightily impressive this season and have been serial overachievers under the stewardship of John Coleman.

Placed seventh with three points separating them with the playoff places, with games in hand on many of those occupying the other positions, they will see this game as a vital one in maintaining their charge for the unlikeliest of promotions to the Championship.

He will be well aware of the threat that Stanley pose having taken a keen interest in Lancashire football for a number of years and he will not be surprised to see them where they are.

The threat of Accrington is in their interchange.

They are quite content playing out from the back and building through the lines when required, whilst being aggressive off the ball to win possession back higher up the field, however they can also play direct and sit in a compact defensive unit if necessary.

Every player in the Stanley side knows their role and what is expected from them and whilst they do not always pull off the game plan they ideally want, when it does come off it is eye-catching to watch and effective on a results basis too.

For the home side, Grayson has and always will be a defence-first coach, looking to sure up the backline that has shipped more goals this season than the last.

They lost the likes of Harry Souttar in the summer and the replacements haven’t stood up to the level required to make a play for the top half of the division.

However, there needs to be a balance and despite a positive victory against Doncaster at home a couple of weeks ago, they have not been potent in front of goal scoring just once in their last three outings.

Callum Camps is the key to their attacking play in this one, particularly without Madden as previously mentioned.

Fleetwood will remain disciplined as they feel their way into the encounter but they have the quality to break and create quality moments in the final third, whether that will be the case on Saturday is another question.

Ultimately, both sides need a win here for differing reasons and they are well aware of each others threats and frailties.

It will be an interesting tactical battle as each side sounds each other out and a close affair is the most likely outcome here.

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