Northampton Town have a huge opportunity to move clear of bottom four against AFC Wimbledon

Northampton Town have a huge opportunity tomorrow afternoon to put real daylight between themselves and the bottom four in League One when they make the trip to south-west London to face AFC Wimbledon.

The Cobblers secured a massive three points during the week when they were victorious against playoff-chasing Oxford United, which took them two points clear of the dreaded drop zone.

However, their opponents tomorrow do have two games in hand and are just three points adrift of Jon Brady’s side with the games running out for both teams to be sure of their safety in the third tier for next season.

The Dons have been better of late, collecting four draws from their last five league outings but need to start claiming regular victories sooner rather than later.

The battle to avoid the drop from League One is fascinating with just five points currently between six clubs and only two points between the clubs that currently occupy the four relegation places.

There is a huge incentive for both teams tomorrow with two of their relegation rivals – Swindon and Rochdale, not in action, while Bristol Rovers and Wigan Athletic face tricky looking tests against promotion-chasing duo Sunderland and Ipswich Town respectively.

The Cobblers were only promoted from the fourth tier last season after seeing off Cheltenham and Exeter in the playoffs so they will be desperate to ensure their stay in the third tier isn’t a short one.

This weekend’s round of fixtures is the return round from the opening weekend of the season when the two sides played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sixfields last September.

All four goals were scored in the opening 31 minutes as it took the Dons just 20 seconds to break the deadlock against newly promoted Northampton Town, who were then led by Keith Curle.

Cobblers’ boss Brady insisted that his side’s focus is fully on themselves going into the weekend when he spoke to Northampton’s official website.

“Each game is important and we need our performance levels to be consistent.

“We need to believe in what we are trying to do and in our style of play and if we get our performance right then the rest takes care of itself.

“We go into every game trying to win, our preparation is all about us and if we are right we feel we can get another three points whoever we play. It won’t be easy and we know we won’t get everything our own way but our focus is on us and what we can do.”

The games continue to come thick and fast in this brutal division but it is a massive opportunity for either side if they are able to claim a much needed three points, particularly for the visitors with the Dons still having two games in hand in the run in.

Goals have been a real problem for the away side, netting just 32 times in their 37 games to date which is the lowest tally in the division and something they will be keen to improve on in this critical clash in the race to avoid relegation.

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