Match Preview | Argyle v Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers will become the first team Argyle have played twice during this Sky Bet League One season when they visit Home Park on Thursday night, 29 December (7.45pm)
Argyle won 1-0 when the sides met at Adams Park earlier in the campaign. The trip to Buckinghamshire came on 1 October, with Sam Cosgrove scoring the game’s only goal, in the eighth minute. Cosgrove had been brought down to earn a penalty, then stepped up to convert from 12 yards.
It was Argyle’s first win in eight fixtures against Wycombe, with the last home victory coming in the promotion season of 2003/04.
Wycombe are seventh in League One, with 35 points from 23 games. They have earned 14 of those points from their 11 away games. Notably, Wanderers have conceded just one goal in their last five away trips, with three wins followed by a 1-0 defeat at Cheltenham Town and a 0-0 draw at Lincoln City.
Wycombe have won four of their last six games all told, including a 2-1 Boxing Day victory over Bristol Rovers. They also have recent home victories over Portsmouth and Ipswich Town.
Wycombe’s top goalscorer is Anis Mehmeti, who has eight goals to his name, having played all 23 of Wycombe’s league games. The 21-year-old attacker joined from Essex Senior League side Woodford Town, and has played for Albania Under-21s.
Wycombe are managed by Gareth Ainsworth, who is the second-longest serving manager in English league football, behind only Simon Weaver of Harrogate Town. Ainsworth became Wanderers boss on 24 September, 2012, 10 years and 93 days before this fixture.
Team News
Argyle could be boosted by the return of James Bolton to the match-day squad. Bolton has not played since March 2022, but has been stepping up his training schedule, and Steven Schumacher has been happy with his progression.
“James will be back involved,” he said. “He’s come through his training sessions so he might be in the squad. He’s come through all the contact work he needed to come through. In the games he played he did really well, and we got some good results when he was in the team. He showed in that brief spell what he is capable of.
“It will be nice to get him back, and if he can stay fit for the remainder of the season that’s great for him and good for us, as it will make us defensively a little stronger.”
Schumacher Says
“They are in very good form; Better form than we played there. They had a few injuries before we played them, but they seem to have their full-strength team back.
“Wycombe make it tough for teams all the time. They’ve got really good attacking players who can score goals out of nothing. We’re not expecting anything different from Wycombe. It’s going to be a physical game, and one we are going to have to be ready for, to compete with them, and try to play our football where we can and cause them problems.
“They will have watched us and seen how well we’ve been doing here, and will know they are not in for an easy game either.”
Tickets
This game is sold-out for home supporters.
Turnstiles will open two hours before kick-off, from 5.45pm. 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 is available to stream for domestic and overseas supporters, with commentary from Charlie Price and Katie Middleton.
From 6.45pm, Erin Black and Marc Edworthy will bring you a pre-match show, streamed for free on YouTube, as we build up to the game.
Click here for more info on Argyle TV.
