The lowdown on Wycombe Wanderers

How have Wycombe fared since the last meeting between the sides?

They have risen into fourth, on the verge of the automatic spots, They comfortably Barnet 2-0 on Saturday after a run of four games without a win. Before this, they went on a fantastic run of results which was halted by Morecambe They had won seven of their eight league games before that in 2018, smashing in goals galore and winning some truly exciting games, including at league leaders, Luton Town. In January, Gareth Ainsworth received manager of the month and plenty of players have continued in top form this term.

What is the target for this season?

At the start of the season, the remit was to challenge for promotion and be in the mix for the play-offs. As it stands, I think they are a bit ahead of where they thought they would be. Ainsworth did a magnificent job recruiting in the summer with the likes of Craig Mackail-Smith and Nathan Tyson coming in. They have already bettered their goals for column than for the whole of the 2014/15 season, when they reached the play-off final at Wembley.

How did you rate Wycombe’s business during the January transfer window?

Very shrewd. They don’t have the budget to be spending transfer fees on players so they went down the loan route and got four in. Tafari Moore, a right-back on loan from Arsenal, has come in for the injured Michael Harriman and Sido Jombati, and has excited the fans with his marauding play down the right. Nathan McGinley has come in from Middlesbrough at centre-half and looks to have a bright future. Curtis Thompson has made appearances from the bench since signing from Notts County and has impressed whilst Randell Williams, on-loan from Watford, is an explosive forward but has picked up a knock and hasn’t featured.

How do you assess Crawley?

When Wycombe won at Adams Park, I feared Crawley would be battling relegation. Little did I know this would be the catalyst for a revival which has seen them on the fringes of the play-offs. They seem to play an attacking brand of football and have shored up the defence in that time. Kewell was an exciting player himself and seems to have installed belief and confidence into the side.

Prediction?

I am going for 2-1 win to Wycombe.

Likely lineup?

(4-3-3) Brown, Moore, El-Abd, Jombati, Jacobson, Gape, O’Nien, Bloomfield, Cowan-Hall, Akinfenwa, Tyson.

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