Two clubs with top-six aspirations in League One meet at Adams Park this Saturday. The onus is on Wycombe to open their points tally as they play host to Stockport.
It was a disastrous opening to the season for Mike Dodds who saw his team fall 2-0 down inside the opening 15 minutes at Bradford. Wycombe did compose themselves after that, and grabbed a goal back after the break thanks to Daniel Udoh, but they still left Valley Parade empty-handed.
Dodds’ win ratio stands at just 33% since taking charge of The Chairboys in February, so a degree of pressure may start to build on the 39-year-old if there’s not a strong response to that opening defeat over the coming weeks.
By contrast, it was a terrific start to the season for Stockport who won a Greater Manchester derby against Bolton 2-0. 21-year-old Malik Mothersille made it a dream debut with the opening goal, following his summer move from Peterborough.
Stockport did only have five attempts on goal in that game though, so it wasn’t the most fluid of attacking displays from the side that finished third in League One last term.
How the bookies view it: Little to choose between the teams
These two sides were both beaten play-off semi-finalists last season, and the bookies reckon there’s not much to choose between them heading into this game. You can back Wycombe to win at 6/4 with Boylesports, while Stockport are priced at 13/8.
Recent head-to-head: Big away wins last term
13 years had passed without a meeting of these clubs until last season, but it was certainly worth the wait, with nine goals across the two 2024/25 league encounters. Bizarrely, eight of those were scored by the team playing away, with Wycombe 5-0 winners at Edgeley Park last November, while Stockport won 3-1 at Adams Park in May.
Players to watch: Wootton to fire again?
Stockport’s second goal last weekend was scored by striker Kyle Wootton who has been a dependable source of goals during their rise to the top-end of League One over the past couple of years. He won nine aerial challenges against Bolton and should be the target of much of their attacking play in this match. If you fancy him to net again, you can back Wootton to score anytime at 11/4.
Predicted Lineups
Star forward Richard Kone could potentially be involved this weekend for Wycombe, unless there is fresh development on the transfer front.
The visitors are not expected to make major changes after an opening victory, with the same team fit to go again.
Wycombe: Van Sas, Grimmer, Hagelskjaer, Casey, Harvie, Leahy, Mullins, Onyedinma, Westergaard, Lowry, Udoh.
Stockport: Addai, O'Keeffe, Pye, Connolly, Dodgson, Norwood, Moxon, Mothersille, Camps, Diamond, Wootton.
Anything else catch the eye?
This is a tough one to call, as while Stockport do look much better equipped to mount another strong promotion challenge, they weren’t entirely convincing on matchday one, despite their two-goal win. Wycombe are still struggling to resolve the Kone situation though, and backing the draw could be the way to go here at 11/5.
The visitors should come looking for the three points though, so that ought to be the recipe for another open game between these teams, after last season’s fixtures served up so many goals. Backing both teams to score at 5/6 could be worth a punt.
GambleAware