The Shrimps are on the road for the second time in a week on Saturday 11 March as they travel to the Montgomery Waters Meadow to face Shrewsbury Town in Sky Bet League One.
Derek Adams’ side were last in action in midweek and played out a 1-1 draw against Cambridge United. Jack Lankester opened the scoring for the hosts before Cole Stockton equalised for the Shrimps in first half stoppage time.
Shrewsbury were also in action on Tuesday night, they were beaten 2-1 by Peterborough United away from home.
The Opposition
The Shrews sit ninth in League One with 15 wins, seven draws and 13 defeats from 35 games.
Salop have been in the third tier since they were promoted out of League Two in 2015. Since then, they've reached the Papa Johns Trophy final and League One play-offs in 2018. Shrewsbury also had a memorable FA Cup fourth round tie with Liverpool in 2020 when they drew 2-2 with the European Champions at the time.
Steve Cotterill is the man in charge for Salop. The 57-year-old played as a striker for Cheltenham Town, Burton Albion, Wimbledon and Bournemouth in his playing career, scoring 73 goals in 164 appearances. He began his managerial career in 1995 with Irish side Sligo Rovers. Since then, he’s taken charge of Stoke City, Burnley and Birmingham City to name a few before joining the Shrews in 2020.
Key Players
Midfielder Luke Leahy is Salop’s top scorer this season with ten goals as well as two assists. The 30-year-old began his career at Falkirk before moving to Walsall and then Bristol Rovers before joining the Shrews in 2021. Since joining the Shropshire side, Leahy has netted 15 goals in 76 appearances.
Midfielder Tom Bayliss has also been chipping in with plenty of goals this season, having scored seven so far as well as creating six assists. The 23-year-old has spent most of his career to date in the north west at Preston North End and Wigan Athletic before moving to Shrewsbury in the summer.
Defender Chey Dunkley has contributed plenty to the Shrews attack this season. The centre back has five goals and three assists so far. Dunkley brings plenty of EFL experience to the Shrewsbury side having played across the pyramid with Oxford United, Wigan Athletic and, most recently, Sheffield Wednesday.
Derek Adams’ Thoughts
Ahead of the game, Shrimps' boss Derek Adams spoke about the importance of having leaders in the squad at this stage of the season.
“It’s really important,” he said.
“We have one of the youngest squads in the division, but that’s when the experienced players come into play because they understand the pressures that there is.
“We’ve got a club captain in Donald Love who’s vastly experienced, played for the likes of Man United and Sunderland, and that can help us from that point of view.”
Team News
Derek Adams will be without Michael Mellon for the rest of the season after he dislocated his shoulder against Fleetwood Town. Jake Taylor will miss out with a calf problem while Max Melbourne and Jacob Bedeau are also side-lined with hamstring and knee injuries respectively.
Arthur Gnahoua missed the midweek trip to Cambridge United through illness, but is expected to back in contention at the weekend.
Meet The Officials
Rebecca Welch will be in charge of Saturday’s fixture and will be assisted by Christopher Husband and Billy Smallwood. Richard Woodward completes the line-up as fourth official.
So far this season, Welch has refereed 15 games across the EFL with five in League One, four in League Two, three in the Papa Johns Trophy, two in the Championship and one in the FA Cup.
The official last refereed the Shrimps in August, a 10-9 win on penalties against Everton U21s in the Papa Johns Trophy.
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