Match Preview | Argyle v Burton Albion
As Argyle get set to play Burton Albion on Saturday, in the season's penultimate game in Sky Bet League One, there are several scenarios that can see the Pilgrims promoted.
The first is simple: win the game.
If Argyle claim three points against the Brewers, then they will ensure that they will be playing Championship football next season. If they lose or draw, promotion can still be achieved if Sheffield Wednesday fail to win their game away at Shrewsbury Town. Should Wednesday win, and Argyle do not, then all will be decided next weekend at Port Vale.
Argyle could even be crowned divisional champions on Saturday, but only if Argyle win and Ipswich Town lose at home to Exeter City.
Burton Albion, Saturday's visitors to Home Park, secured their League One safety on Tuesday night, reaching 52 points in their 44th game, by winning 1-0 at Lincoln City.
The Brewers have been the epitome of inconsistency of late, winning six, drawing three and losing five of their last 14 games. They became only the second team to win at Lincoln, and have also beaten Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday in the aforementioned sequence of fixtures.
Burton's top goalscorer this season is Victor Abeboyejo, with 11, but he moved to Bolton Wanderers in January. Gassan Ahadme, who is on loan at Burton from Ipswich, has six goals, including the winner at Lincoln.
When the sides met earlier this season, the game finished 2-2 at the Pirelli Stadium. Burton had led through a Bobby Kamwa goal in the first half, but Argyle turned things around with a Ryan Hardie penalty and a Bali Mumba goal. Burton, though, equalised deep into injury time via a goal by Adrian Mariappa.
Albion are managed by Dino Maamria. The Tunisian forward played much of his career in the higher reaches of England's non-league system, then managed Northwich Victoria. He spent time as Graham Westley's assistant manager at Stevenage, Preston North End and Newport County, before taking management roles at Southport, Nuneaton, and back at Stevenage. He had a spell as Oldham Athletic manager, before becoming assistant at Burton to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. He took over as manager in September 2022.
Schumacher Says
“I think they're a threat. They're in really good form at the moment. Just in the last few weeks, they've beaten Lincoln away from home, which hardly anyone ever does. They've beaten Sheffield Wednesday, they've beaten Barnsley, they've drawn with Bolton. They're a real strong team, and the key to that is to be as organised as possible.
“We’ll try to hurt them in areas that we feel they might be susceptible to getting punished. We know we need to play well.”
Tickets
Tickets are sold out. Returned tickets can be made available, so keep checking ArgyleTickets.com.
Turnstiles will open two hours before kick-off, from 1pm. Supporters are advised to enter through the turnstile identified on their match ticket. However, if neighbouring turnstiles have shorter queues, supporters are permitted to enter these to speed up access to the stadium.
Argyle TV
The game will be covered on Argyle TV, with commentary from Charlie Price and former Argyle promotion-winner Ian Stonebridge.
David Wooldridge will host a pre-match show which will be available for free on YouTube from 2pm. He will be joined by former Argyle women's captain Katie Middleton.
Audio commentary of the game is available for £2.50 in the UK, and live video streaming is available for overseas supporters.
