Match Preview | Argyle v Cheltenham Town
When Argyle kick-off against Cheltenham Town on Saturday, the game will come only 26 days after the sides met last.
That encounter, on Boxing Day, saw Argyle win the game 1-0, thanks to a goal from Morgan Whittaker. Whittaker is no longer an Argyle player, having been recalled by parent club Swansea City, but Argyle boss Steven Schumacher has added five new players to the squad since then.
Cheltenham have had losses and additions of their own. Dan Nlundulu, who played up front for the Robins on 26 December, was recalled by his parent club Southampton, and sent back out on loan, this time to Bolton Wanderers. Town reacted by bringing in Will Goodwin, a striker brought in from Stoke City. Goodwin, 20, had spend the season to date on loan at Torquay United in the Vanarama National League, scoring eight times in 27 games. He scored on his Cheltenham debut, in the Papa Johns Trophy. It came in a win over Salford City that sent Cheltenham into the semi-finals of the competition, where they will meet Argyle, in February.
Cheltenham's most recent acquisition is defender Elkan Baggott. Baggott is an Ipswich Town player who has been on loan at Gillingham this season, playing 29 times for the Gills.
Cheltenham's top goalscorer this season is Alfie May, who has nine goals, including three in his last four. Also in their squad is Ryan Broom, who played 48 times for Argyle in a loan spell last season.
Town are 18th in Sky Bet League One, with 28 points from their 25 games. In their next game after losing to Argyle on Boxing Day, Cheltenham won 1-0 at Shrewsbury Town. However, in their subsequent three league fixtures, they have lost them all, all by the odd goal.
The Robins lost 2-1 at Bristol Rovers, then by the same scoreline at Morecambe, before losing 3-2 at home to Derby County,
Cheltenham are managed by former Bournemouth and Burnley midfielder Wade Elliott. After his playing career, Elliott held development coaching posts for Bristol City, Forest Green Rovers and Stoke City. He joined Cheltenham as a coach in September 2020, and took the manager’s job in July when previous boss Michael Duff left to manage Barnsley.
Schumacher Says
"After the game [earlier in the season], I felt it was a great win and we did well, but I watched the game back and I feel like we could have played better.
“We haven’t got the same squad, so we won’t have just the same team that played against them last time. All games are different. I always pick a team based on what we think is best to win that game on it’s own.
“Cheltenham is always a difficult place to go. The pitch is so small, and we didn’t pass the ball well enough. We didn’t use the space available on the pitch properly. That has come into my thinking this week. We’re at home, on our pitch, which is a bigger and better surface than at Cheltenham, so we’ll try to stamp our authority on the game as much as we can.”
Team News
Schumacher was in the rare position of having to leave out three senior players from his match-day squad last Saturday, when Argyle met Ipswich Town. With the return of Joe Edwards from a one-match suspension, and the fact he has reported a healthy squad save for some long-term pre-existing injuries, he has a decision to make once again.
Tickets
This game is sold-out for home supporters.
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 Ian Stonebridge.
Erin Black will host a pre-match show which will be available for free on YouTube from 2pm. She will be joined by Aaron Cusack.
Audio commentary of the game is available for £2.50 in the UK, and live video streaming is available for overseas supporters.
