Match Preview | Argyle v Fleetwood Town
Argyle have lost just four of their 31 games so far in the Sky Bet League One season, but game number 32 sees them face the first team to defeat them this season.
In the second game of the season, Argyle travelled to Fleetwood Town, and lost 2-1 at Highbury Stadium. Ryan Hardie's penalty gave the Greens the lead after 23 minutes, but Daniel Batty equalised five minutes later, and Joe Garner would end up giving Fleetwood the lead with two minutes remaining.
Fleetwood are 17th coming into Saturday, with 35 points from 30 games. Only 14 of those points have come at home, 21 on the road.
On 1 January, Fleetwood won 3-0 at Shrewsbury Town. Curiously, after then, Shrewsbury went on a six-game winning run, followed by a draw with Exeter City on Tuesday night. Fleetwood, meanwhile, lost their next four league games. They put that right with a 2-1 win at Charlton Athletic, then a 1-0 win at home to Peterborough United.
Meanwhile, Fleetwood have maintained their form in the Emirates FA Cup. They beat Oxford City and Ebbsfleet Town to earn a third round tie against Queens Park Rangers, which they won. In the fourth round, following a replay, they beat Sheffield Wednesday, and will now meet Burnley away in round five.
Fleetwood's top goalscorer this season, in all competitions, is Carlos Mendes Gomes. The former Morecambe attacked moved to Luton Town in 2021, but is on loan for the season at Fleetwood.
Town made several signings during the January transfer window, but perhaps notable were the signings of strikers Jack Marriott and Jayden Stockley.
Marriott, 28, has scored goals regularly at Championship and League One level, at clubs including Peterborough United, Luton Town and Derby County.
Stockley broke through at Bournemouth, and headed on numerous loans, including to Exeter City. His form at Exeter interested Aberdeen, who signed up, although Stockley would end up back at City, this time on a permanent basis. Once again, good form attracted interested, and Stockley would move to Preston North End, then Charlton Athletic, from where he moved on to Fleetwood last month.
Fleetwood are managed by Scott Brown. Brown, as Celtic captain, won 10 league titles, played more than 600 times for the Bhoys, and won 55 caps for Scotland. His final club was Aberdeen, where he became a player/coach, before leaving and taking the job at Fleetwood in the summer of 2022.
Schumacher Says
“They're in really good form. They had a good January transfer window; the two strikers that they brought in who are experienced and have scored so many goals at this level.
“That’s what Scott highlighted that they needed to do. The chairman, Andy, has gone and backed them and done it with two real quality signings.
“We watched them twice before we played Sheffield Wednesday, and I thought they did well in both games. They had a great result the other day against Peterborough.
“It’s a tough game. We've already lost to them once this season. We'll hopefully try to put that one right."
Team News
Mike Cooper is out for the rest of the season. Dan Scarr will miss this game, but Steven Schumacher hopes the centre-half will be back 'in a few weeks'. Schumacher reports Adam Randell, who came off injured against Portsmouth last weekend, as being 'touch and go', but says that Niall Ennis and Mickel Miller have trained this week.
Tickets
This game has very limited tickets available after more were released. There is no pay on the day for visiting 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 former Pilgrims defender Marc Edworthy.
Erin Black will host a pre-match show which will be available for free on YouTube from 2pm. She will be joined by former Argyle striker Ian Stonebridge.
Audio commentary of the game is available for £2.50 in the UK, and live video streaming is available for overseas supporters.
