Wycombe Wanderers V Tranmere Rovers
Wednesday 20 November, 2019 – 19:45 Kick-Off
English FA Cup
Pick: Wycombe to WIN
Odds: 10/11
Bookmaker: MoPlay
English FA Cup Betting – 22Bet
(All Betting odds displayed were correct as of 19 November 09:10)
Preview: The third meeting between these teams within the space of only eleven days, as Wycombe and Tranmere contest an FA Cup First Round replay at Adams Park. For the winner, a Second Round tie at home to Chichester City awaits.
Wycombe Preview – Fortress Adams Park to prove decisive?
Flying high in League One, a league they are currently top of after winning ten and losing just one of their opening seventeen contests (W10 D6 L1). Wycombe, up against an opponent floating above the relegation places in the same division, were therefore expected to progress in this competition at the first attempt. It wasn’t to be for Gareth Ainsworth’s side, this despite scoring twice away from home and also leading early into the second half.
The Chairboys would make no mistake when presented with another shot at the same fixture. Playing the exact same team at the very same ground as their 2-2 FA Cup First Round draw, Wycombe would again score twice only this time it would come in a more polished performance, shutting out Tranmere to win 2-0 in the league at Prenton Park last Sunday. Defender Joe Jacobson would score in both.
Confidence will have been flowing through their veins even before beating Tranmere, albeit at the second attempt, but that is now especially the case in the knowledge they are back in front of a home crowd for this replay. At home this season, ‘The Blues’ have been sensational, remaining nine unbeaten (W7 D2) when excluding the dubious EFL Trophy competition that most teams have heavily rotated in. Their previous three home league games would all conclude in the same manner: with them victorious, all by way of 1-0 scorelines.
Tranmere Rovers Preview – Patchy away form cause for concern?
Has the club’s best opportunity to progress in this competition seemingly passed them by? The fact 90 minutes versus a team from the same division as themselves is all that stands between them and the FA Cup Second Round would perhaps suggest not. However, there does remain a very large and notable gulf between these two in the League One standings this term, leading us to believe victory on Wednesday is the least likely outcome.
Playing their football in the same league, Tranmere have not even managed half as many points as their upcoming opponents (16 v 36), scoring seven fewer goals whilst conceding double the amount of their rival (30 v 14). These are the sort of numbers which help paint a very vivid picture: one of a side keen to avoid relegation in their first term back in the division, the other, meanwhile, utilising their superior experience at this level and, at present, look a class above.
Bearing this in mind, Rovers do deserve credit for earning a draw in the original match-up. Losing to the same opponent, inside their own stadium, a little over a week later will have been psychologically damaging though. And if that result wasn’t, their lousy away record may well do the trick: seven played, only two wins (W2 D1 L5) and a woeful goal difference of -12. Although they did win 2-0 on their most recent visit to Wycombe, for a League Two encounter back in 2014.
Wycombe V Tranmere Key Facts:
- Wycombe, top of League One, are still to taste a league defeat on home soil in 2019/20 (W7 D2).
- Tranmere, currently three positions above the League One relegation zone, have won two of seven away league games so far this season (W2 D1 L5).
- The original tie was hosted by Tranmere and finished 2-2, though these teams would play out the same fixture last Sunday, which Wycombe won 2-0.
Betting Summary
There simply has to be an air of confidence about Wycombe right now. Top of the English third tier, the club are flying at the moment having lost only one league encounter all season. At their home ground of Adams Park they have been formidable, where they remain unbeaten in 2019/20 (W7 D2) and have won each of their previous three fixtures without conceding (all 1-0).
In order to progress further in this competition, Tranmere must overcome a fair amount, not least a 2-0 scoreline that was inflicted on them by the same opposition as recently as Sunday – and that was at their own ground. Furthermore, this is a side with only two away wins to its name in 2019/20 (W2 D1 L5) against Coventry (3rd in League One) and MK Dons (21st).
This should go the way of the formbook, though the same was probably said before a 2-2 draw was played out in the original fixture. Nevertheless Wycombe, now boasting the advantage of playing at home where they have won three successive League One games without conceding, really ought to make it back-to-back wins over Tranmere within the space of a week.
