Stockport County host Swindon Town in the opening round of the FA Cup this weekend, hoping to extend their unbeaten run of five games.

Swindon, meanwhile, enjoyed an emphatic victory over Mansfield Town last time out, and currently sit in the playoff places in League Two, two points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.

Match preview

Stockport's three-game League Two winning run came to a frustrating end as they were held to a goalless draw at Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday night.

The visitors had 15 shots but only tested Tranmere goalkeeper Ross Doohan on two occasions, while defensively that result marked four games on the spin for Stockport without conceding.

Dave Challinor's side are now unbeaten in five games in all competitions, and their recent wins in the league against Salford City, Carlisle United and Sutton United have seen them rise to 14th in the table.

More importantly for the Hatters, the victories over Carlisle and Sutton came at Edgeley Park, suggesting they can get the job done in front of their own fans - something they had not been able to achieve in the league since getting the better of AFC Wimbledon on September 3.

Meanwhile, Swindon recorded a remarkable victory in Nottinghamshire as they bounced back twice and went on to score five at The One Call Stadium, to put fellow promotion-chasers Mansfield Town to the sword on their own turf.

Remarkably, it was just the second time that Mansfield had lost in the league at home in this calendar year, and it is certainly a result the Robins will take confidence from.

Goals from Jonny Williams (2), Luke Jephcott, Ronan Darcy and Ben Gladwin gave Scott Lindsey's side their first away win since defeating Grimsby Town at Blundell Park on September 24.

Since losing 3-0 to Bristol Rovers in the Football League Trophy on October 18, Swindon have responded accordingly beating Hartlepool at the County Ground, before sharing the spoils on the road against Bradford City.

Now, the Robins will aim to topple Stockport once again at Edgeley Park – something they could not manage when the sides met in league action back on August 27.

Team News

Challinor has named an unchanged side for the past two outings, so he could make rotations in this game to avoid any fatigue with plenty of league action on the horizon.

Vitezslav Jaros remains on the sidelines, so Ben Hinchliffe will keep his place between the sticks.

Akil Wright, Fraser Horsfall and Chris Hussey are expected to form the back three once again, with James Brown and Calum MacDonald providing the width at wing-back.

Callum Camps returned from a three-match ban last time out, so he could retain his place in the squad.

Meanwhile, Lindsey made a double change to the side that earned a hard-fought point at Bradford City for the trip to Mansfield and it paid dividends.

Luke Jephcott and midfielder Ronan Darcy came into the side for Ricky Aguiar and the injured Frazer Blake-Tracy, while Jonny Williams is expected to retain his place in after his brace against the Stags.

Tom Clayton was forced off prematurely last time out, so Mathieu Baudry could replace him in the starting XI.

Louis Reed made an impact from the bench last time out, in what was his first taste of action in four games, so he could be rewarded with a start here.

Stockport County possible starting lineup:
Hinchliffe; Wright, Horsfall, Hussey; Brown, Collar, Croasdale, Hippolyte, MacDonald; Madden, Wootton

Swindon Town possible starting lineup:
Brynn; Hutton, Brennan, Baudry, Iandolo; Darcy, Khan, Gladwin; Wakeling, Jephcott, Williams

We say: Stockport County 2-1 Swindon Town

Both sides are in great form so we are expecting a tightly-contested affair at Edgeley Park.

Stockport have been impressive defensively in recent weeks, and we think that could be the difference here.

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