Accrington Stanley vs Plymouth Argyle F.C.: League One Match Preview
The match coming up this Saturday, 27 April 2019, between Accrington Stanley F.C. and the Plymouth Argyle F.C. Pilgrims will be pivotal in this year's EFL League One relegation battle. The game this week will take place at WHAM Stadium in Accrington, England, and is the final home match of the year for Accy.
Sitting on 51 points, and 14th in the standings, a draw will be enough to get Stanley the 1 point it needs to guarantee another season in League One. Things are a bit more precarious for the Pilgrims who are currently 20th in the table (47 points), and are just one position and one point to the good of the relegation line. A loss for Plymouth will see them facing a must win against Scunthorpe United F.C. next Saturday, in what could be a loser leaves the league match.
To make matters worse for Plymouth, they have been in poor form of late, as they have lost their past 4 matches, and have not won since 12 March 2019. Accrington is looking to avoid a let down after their massive win over Doncaster Rovers F.C. this past Tuesday 23 April 2019. Accrington will one again be looking to Jonny Maxted in goal as Dimitar Evtimov remains suspended. Accrington will be looking for Billy Kee to snap out of his recent slump. He still leads Accrington in scoring with 12 league goals this year, but has been able to put it in the onion bag since 23 March against Burton Albion F.C.. In spite of their struggles as a team this season, Freddie Ladapo has been a bright spot. He is currently tied for 6th in League One with 17 goals. This includes 5 goals over his last 10, and Plymouth's lone tally in their most recent match against Gillingham F.C. on 19 April 2019.
Accrington Stanley vs Plymouth Argyle F.C. Vital Information
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This match can be viewed on iFollow (which must be purchased from the Plymouth Argyle website) in the United States, and on iFollow in the UK at 10:00 AM ET/3:00 PM GMT.
Craig Hicks will be the referee in the middle of the park along with assistants Richard Woodward and Craig Taylor. The fourth official will be Richard Wild.
This will be the 14th meeting all time between Accrington Stanley and Plymouth Argyle F.C. In the previous 13 meetings, Accrington has won 4 times, Argyle has won 4, and there have been 5 draws. It was Accy winning the most recent of those, 0-3, over at Plymouth back on 22 Decemeber 2018.
Five Points That Shouldn’t be Overlooked
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The travel distance from Plymouth to Accrington is a whopping 308 miles, making this one of the longest travels in League One. Plymouth to Sunderland at 402 miles is the longest. By comparison the travel distance from Phoenix to Orange County is 357 miles. (Distances are city to city per Google Maps)
This is a close match-up on paper, even closer than the just 4 points that separate them in the table would suggest. Plymouth has scored 52 times this year, and let in 73 for a goal differential of -21. Accrington has scored 45 and let in 65 for a -20 goal differential.
Plymouth's Freddie Ladapo has had 5 games this season in which he has scored two goals. His most recent brace came against Rochdale A.F.C. on 23 February 2019. He also scored 5 goals in a 3 game stretch in October, including back to back doubles against Burton Albion 20 October 2018, and Gillingham 23 October 2018.
Attacking midfielder Paul Smyth factored into both Stanley goals against Doncaster, scoring one of them, and assisting on the other. The 21-year-old Smyth has been an impact player since joining the Reds on loan from Queens Park Rangers in January, and has 3 goals and 2 assists in 13 appearances. He was also wowed the crowds at the Crown Grounds with his backflip goal celebration. The speedy Smyth is a nightmare for defenses, slicing and dribbling his way through open lanes, and Donny often looked a bit out of their element trying to defend against him on Tuesday.
Plymouth Argyle went winless in their first 11 games of the season, and their first victory did not come until 6 October 2018 against AFC Wimbledon. On the other hand, they stated 2019 on a roll, winning their first 4 games of the new year between, 1 January 2019 and 22 January 2019.
Accrington Stanley vs Plymouth Argyle F.C.Prediction
This is sure to be a physical match between two teams desperate to stay up in the league. Plymouth does have extra rest on their side, as Stanley has played twice since the Pilgrams last took the field on Friday 19 April. The reds also need to avoid a let down after a massive, and emotional road win at Doncaster on Tuesday. At the end of the day though, I just don't see Argyle getting it done. After looking a bit frisky in late February and early March, their form as been very poor over the past 6 weeks. At the same time, just one point away now, the Accrington players can taste safety now, and would certainly like to secure it in front of their home crowd. I think that not only that will happen tomorrow, but the winning goal will come off the foot (or head) of Billy Kee.
Prediction – Accrington 2 Plymouth 1
