Fleetwood Town will host Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday. Fleetwood will enter the match after losing 2-1 to Charlton Athletic on Saturday in the league. Tranmere lost 1-0 to Wrexham on the same day in the fourth division.
Preview (Fleetwood Town vs. Tranmere Rovers)
Scott Brown, 38, left his position as head coach at Fleetwood on Sunday morning after serving in that capacity for 16 months. The Cod Army struggled for success early in the season. They earned just one point from their first six League One games. It dropped them to 23rd place in the standings. Brown’s assistant Steven Whittaker has also left the organization. Fleetwood also suffered a 3-2 defeat to Port Vale in the EFL Cup on August 8. The club has since made the decision to overhaul its management structure. It seems doubtful that a new head coach will be named before the EFL Trophy match with Tranmere.
Given their problems in the early part of the season, the Fishermen won’t consider this match to be particularly significant in the larger scheme of things. However, Fleetwood has previously advanced to the Northern Area Final of the EFL Trophy twice. They fell to Chesterfield in 2013–14 and to Barnsley in 2015–16. Meanwhile, Tranmere has struggled to produce winning performances thus far in this campaign. With just three points from their first six League Two games, Ian Dawes’ team is currently in 21st place. On Saturday, they lost 1-0 to Wrexham at home.
Tranmere defeated Barnsley in the first round of the EFL Cup this season. Last week’s 2-0 home loss to Leicester City saw them eliminated from the competition. The Rovers have won this competition in the past, taking home the trophy in 1989–1990. They have also finished second twice, most recently in 2020–21 when they lost to Sunderland at Wembley. For the 2023–24 season, Tranmere and Fleetwood have been placed in Northern Group D together with Leicester City Under-21s and Wigan Athletic.
Team News
For this game, Fleetwood will make significant lineup adjustments, with David Harrington likely to start in goal for just the second time this year. Despite not being played in the league match on Saturday against Charlton, Scott Robertson ought to start this match among players like Phoenix Patterson and Cian Hayes. The starting lineup for this game should also include Daniel Mayor and Kabongo Tshimanga, as the host team looks to inspire their fans after a difficult start to the year. Meanwhile, Tranmere manager Dawes will make a number of adjustments to the lineup that faced Wrexham in a league match on Saturday.
The lineup versus Leicester in the EFL Cup’s second round is anticipated to reflect that of the team. On Tuesday night, there will be a change in the starting lineup with 42-year-old Joe Murphy expected to replace the injured Sam Taylor between the sticks. Both teams struggled in the early weeks of the season. Neither will be in top shape going into this match. On Tuesday night, we anticipate a competitive game, but we’re picking Tranmere to come out on top.
Fleetwood Town 1 – 2 Tranmere Rovers
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