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League Two Playoffs | Semi-Finals
May 14, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
PA

2-1

Hayes (8'), Mawson (35')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Brunt (71')

Preview: Wycombe Wanderers vs. Plymouth Argyle

:Headline: Preview: Wycombe Wanderers vs. Plymouth Argyle: ID:222433: from db_amp
Sports Mole looks ahead to the League Two playoff semi-final second leg between Wycombe Wanderers and Plymouth Argyle.

Eighty-five minutes into the first leg of their League Two playoff semi-final first leg, Wycombe Wanderers looked home and dry with still over a game to play.

However, it's still all to play for going into the second leg on Thursday night after Plymouth Argyle scored twice in the final five minutes to give themselves hope of reaching the Wembley final.



Wycombe

The Chairboys had a fine season in 2014-15 after escaping relegation on goal difference last term, but missed out on automatic promotion back to League One by a single point.

Home defeats to Morecambe and local rivals Oxford United in the final month of the campaign saw Gareth Ainsworth's side finish fourth to set up a playoff semi-final with seventh-placed Plymouth.

Their 3-2 victory in the first leg was their second straight away win by that margin and their away form has been stronger than their home form of late. At Adams Park, Wycombe have won just three of their last 10 games, having drawn three and lost four.

In fact, they lost just twice on the road all season to finish top of the away table with 47 points, but they managed 10 fewer at home.

If they do advance and win the final at Wembley later this month, Wycombe will return to League One after three years in the fourth tier.

Recent form: WWDLWW



Plymouth

Back-to-back wins in their last two matches of the regular season saw Plymouth earn the final playoff spot as they look to return to the third tier after four years away.

John Sheridan has stabilised the club since taking charge in 2013 and their surge for the top seven this term was built on their excellent form at home.

Unlike Wycombe, Plymouth were much stronger in front of their own fans, with Wycombe's win on Saturday just the fifth time they lost at Home Park in the league this term.

Sheridan also relied on one of the best defences in the division. Plymouth conceded just 37 goals in 46 league games during the regular season, but, worryingly, Saturday's defeat was just the second time this season they conceded more than twice in a League Two game.

In Reuben Reid, the Pilgrims have the league's third-best marksman. However, he has scored just once in seven appearances since the end of March.

Recent form: WDLWWL



Team News

Wycombe have been boosted by the news that both Matt Ingram and Paul Hayes should be fit to start in two days' time.

After starting all 46 of the Chairboys' regular-season games, Ingram was ruled out of the first leg with a knee injury suffered on the final day of the season at Northampton.

He is back to full fitness and should return in place of Alex Lynch, while Hayes, who opened the scoring on Saturday, has recovered from a facial injury suffered in the first half that caused him to go off at half time.

Aaron Holloway and Steven Craig, the other goalscorers on Saturday, also came off with injuries, but the Wycombe frontmen should both be fit to feature again.

Sheridan, meanwhile, must choose whether to stick with his first-choice front duo of Reid and Lewis Alessandra or mix things up as both have struggled for goals of late.

Second-half substitutes Zak Ansah and Jason Banton scored the hosts' late goals to give them hope of going through, and both will hope to have impressed enough to come into the starting lineup.

Wycombe possible starting lineup:
Ingram, Bean, Jacobson, Mawson, Pierre, Saunders, Yennaris, Wood, Craig, Holloway, Hayes

Plymouth possible starting lineup:
McCormick, Mellor, Nelson, R Reid, Holmes-Dennis, McHugh, B Reid, O'Connor, Jones, Ansah, Hartley

Referee: Nigel Miller



Head To Head

Wycombe's win on Saturday means that the away side has won the last six meetings between these two, with no home league win in over 10 years.

Prior to Saturday's first leg, the home side hadn't even scored in the previous five matches between the Chairboys and Argyle.

The two sides' last meeting at Adams Park was a 2-0 win for Plymouth in February, with Alessandra and Peter Hartley scoring in the first half to settle matters.


We say: Wycombe 2-2 Plymouth

Both sides have been freely scoring recently, so plenty more goals could be on the cards. Having finished higher in the table and being at home, Wycombe will start the match as favourites, but Plymouth will have the momentum after their late rally at Home Park. It's a tough game to call, so we're sitting on the fence and backing Wanderers to advance by a single goal.



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