We look ahead to the weekend action in Sky Bet League 1.
ROCKIN' ROBINSCrawley Town v Bristol City
Sky Bet League 1 leaders possess the best away record in the division and this weekend head to West Sussex to take on Crawley Town.
The Robins, who moved 10 points clear at the summit following their 3-1 win at Leyton Orient on Tuesday, have collected 32 points from their 17 games on the road thanks to nine wins and five draws, scoring a joint league-high 33 away goals in that period.
Crawley host the leaders having taken two points from their two most recent home games, with a 5-1 mauling of Barnsley coming before a 1-1 draw against Sheffield United.
They are currently 23rd in the table and two points from safety in their fight against relegation to Sky Bet League 2, and they are yet to overcome the Robins in league competition, after three meetings. City won the reverse clash 1-0 at Ashton Gate, as Luke Ayling scored the only goal of the game.
In the past two seasons, 74 points has been enough to secure a place in the Play-Offs. City (73) are just one point from that target and still have 12 games remaining, starting with their weekend clash against Crawley. In 2010/11 and 2011/12, 71 and 73 points respectively was enough.
PROMOTION PLAYERS
Milton Keynes Dons v Preston North End
MK Dons have the second-best record at home in Sky Bet League 1 this season, with Preston North End bringing the second-best away form to stadiummk on Saturday.
The Dons have taken 36 points from 17 home ties, winning 11, while Preston have been victorious on nine occasions in 16 games on their travels, registering 29 points from a possible 48.
This game also pits third against second in the race for an automatic promotion spot, with Preston having overtaken MK on Tuesday.
That swapping of positions came despite North End only drawing 2-2 with Doncaster thanks to a last-minute Jermaine Beckford equaliser, as Karl Robinson’s men were beaten 2-1 by Chesterfield.
That was their second straight defeat, following a 2-1 loss to Coventry last weekend, and means they are one point behind their visitors going into Saturday’s encounter.
Preston, meanwhile, are unbeaten in six and have taken 16 points from the last 18 on offer, a run of form that saw Simon Grayson named the Sky Bet League 1 Manager of the Month for February.
GOALS, GLORIOUS GOALS
Barnsley v Walsall
Barnsley go into Saturday’s home clash with Walsall in a rich vein of form, having won each of their past four without conceding.
The Tykes have also secured 1-0 victories in both of Lee Johnson’s games as manager, against Gillingham and Coventry, to rocket them up to 10th in the League 1 standings and two points from a Play-Off position, on 47 points.
Their opponents Walsall are 16th on 44 points after Tuesday night’s 1-0 success at Yeovil, a result that ended a run of just one point from four matches.
Despite both team’s tight matches in midweek, this is a fixture that has a history of producing goals.
Since 13th May 1989 the two clubs have met 12 times, producing 45 goals at an average of 3.75 per game. Both teams have scored on 11 occasions, and the only time a clean sheet has been registered by either side was when Walsall won 2-0 back in January 2006.
That makes interesting reading considering Barnsley come into this weekend's match after keeping four clean sheets - they haven’t conceded for 367 minutes of League 1 football. However, the last time their defence was breached it was quite dramatic, in a 5-1 humbling by Crawley on Valentine’s Day.
AROUND THE GROUNDS
Swindon Town have seen their promotion push stutter of late and on Saturday they are at home to Notts County.
The Robins have lost four of their past six, taking just four points from a possible 18 to slip down to fourth, two points from the top two. County, on the other hand, fell from fourth to 19th over the season, but gained a place back to sit 18th following a 1-0 win at Colchester in midweek.
Sheffield United were starting to close in on the top two following a run of six unbeaten, but they were defeated 2-1 by Peterborough United on Tuesday and are now 10 points behind Preston.
The Blades host Fleetwood Town, who are 14th with only one win in four. This will be only their second ever meeting, having drawn 1-1 at Highbury back in December.
Doncaster are clinging onto sixth spot ahead of their trip to 12th-placed Gillingham. The Gills are one of 10 teams within five points of Rovers as the quest for a League 1 Play-Off berth gets ever tighter.
Justin Edinburgh’s men picked up an impressive 3-0 win over Swindon last time out, while Rovers were held to a 2-2 draw at Preston.
Owing to Bradford City’s involvement in the FA Cup quarter-finals, both the Bantams, in eighth, and seventh-placed Chesterfield aren’t in league action this weekend.
It means Doncaster’s nearest rivals for this round of fixtures is Peterborough, who host Leyton Orient in a repeat of last season’s Play-Off Semi-Final.
Both have struggled this season, but Posh have won two from two under caretaker boss Dave Robertson (http://www.football-league.co.uk/news/article/2015/dave-robertson-ecstatic-after-peterborough-united-win-2312768.aspx) to be within just two points of a top-six spot. Orient are having a much worse season, but have taken nine points from five games and are now a single point from safety.
Coventry sit immediately above the O’s on 36 points having been beaten 1-0 by Barnsley as new manager Tony Mowbray (http://www.football-league.co.uk/news/article/2015/tony-mowbray-the-right-man-for-coventry-city-2310268.aspx) watched from the stands on Tuesday. He’ll be looking for a first win as Sky Blues boss when they host Port Vale.
Crewe are directly ahead of Coventry, by three points, and they host Scunthorpe United. The Railwaymen are without a win in four, but remain safe – by four points – having won three straight matches before that. Scunthorpe are two places and three points higher, having drawn their past two in a run of four without victory.
Despite that poor Iron form, it’s bottom-of-the-table Yeovil Town who have the longest winless run in the third tier. The Glovers have lost three and drawn twice, which has put them six points from safety.
Oldham Athletic are the visitors to Huish Park on Saturday – the Latics are 11th and three points from the top two. Earlier in the season, this game saw dad Gary and son Lee face each other, but both have since left their respective employers.
Colchester are also occupying a place in the bottom four following defeats to Notts County and Doncaster. They make the trip to Rochdale who thrashed Crewe 4-0 on Tuesday evening.
SKY BET LEAGUE 1 WEEKEND FIXTURES
Saturday 7th March 2015
Barnsley v Walsall
Coventry City v Port Vale
Crawley Town v Bristol City
Crewe Alexandra v Scunthorpe United
Gillingham v Doncaster Rovers
Milton Keynes Dons v Preston North End
Peterborough United v Leyton Orient
Rochdale v Colchester United
Sheffield United v Fleetwood Town
Swindon Town v Notts County
Yeovil Town v Oldham Athletic