Burton Albion and Accrington Stanley, two League One clubs struggling but have recently shown signs of improvement, meet on Tuesday in a third-round EFL Trophy matchup at the Pirelli Stadium.
The Brewers’ undefeated record was extended to seven games over the weekend thanks to a late equalizer against Derby County. Still, the visitors’ opportunity to expand on a run of three victories in four was thwarted by a frozen surface.
Our Match Preview: Burton Albion vs Accrington Stanley
Burton visited Derby County on Saturday after stemming the bleeding and averting further relegation. Victor Adeboyejo, the Brewers’ leading scorer, scored a late equalizer to secure a 1-1 draw with a promotion contender.
Staffordshire has won two of its previous three games, but it is still five points below the playoff cutoff and faces Accrington in its next match.
Since Dino Maamria replaced Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at the start of the season, Burton has progressed, reaching the FA Cup third round and EFL Trophy last 16.
Maamria’s team has won seven straight games, including four league ties. They advanced to the semifinals of the latter competition after defeating Bradford City, Sheffield Wednesday, and Leicester City’s Under-21 squad.
Accrington Stanley’s League One playoff hopes were dashed when their Saturday home match against Portsmouth was postponed due to poor weather.
John Coleman’s club fell to 19th after losing to one of the league’s best teams at Wham Stadium. They’re undefeated in four games in all competitions before Tuesday’s journey south.
Unlike their current winning streak, Lancashire won just one of seven games in October. An FA Cup second-round match against Boreham Wood was scheduled for January after wins against Cambridge United and Oxford United steadied a shaky league season.
Tommy Leigh’s second-half penalty sent Accrington’s youthful squad to Burton this week after they lost to Salford City, Rochdale, and Liverpool in the EFL Trophy group stage.
Our Detailed Team News: Burton Albion vs Accrington Stanley
Burton manager Dino Maamria may want to make many changes to his starting XI for Saturday’s harrowing journey to Barnsley. Still, top scorer Victor Adeboyejo may stay up front after getting the nod from the get-go in the previous round.
As a result of his recent recovery from injury, veteran defender Adrian Mariappa is now available for selection at center back. At the same time, Bobby Kamwa is anticipated to provide offensive support for Adeboyejo.
Mustapha Carayol, Albion’s 34-year-old winger, scored a thrilling late equalizer that sent the match to penalties. He will be hoping to play again on Tuesday. Joe Powell, a midfielder, will not play today because of a calf injury.
Accrington, on the other hand, didn’t have a league game last weekend and may potentially start a quality team. Harvey Rodgers was nominated for League One’s November Player of the Month award after scoring a late equalizer against Lincoln City. And the game-winning goal against Cambridge would be a part of such a side.
John Coleman is expected to go with the same 3-5-2 formation he used last time, which saw defenders Doug Tharme and Ryan Astley return. The club’s highest scorer this season, Scottish midfielder Ethan Hamilton, could also see action.
- Burton Albion Predicted Starting Lineup: Brayford, Mariappa, Garratt, Ndaba, Onyango, Mancienne, Borthwick-Jackson, Kamwa, Adeboyejo, Oshilaja, Carayol.
- Accrington Stanley Predicted Starting Lineup: Tharme, Astley, Savin, Rodgers, Conneely, Whalley, Clark, Coyle, Whalley, Hamilton, Leigh.
Our Expert Match Prediction; Burton Albion 0-1 Accrington Stanley
Having just played a home game that had to be postponed, Accrington should have the energy to give a tough Burton team a run for their money and advance to the next round. Although a loss would ruin Albion’s undefeated run, they have an easily winnable FA Cup match against Grimsby to look forward to in the new year.