Yeovil Town are back in SkyBet League One action this coming Saturday when the Glovers make the long trip to face Scunthorpe United.
Yeovil have a spell of three back to back home games coming up, but first must negotiate what looks like a tricky trip to the north and a Scunthorpe side who have been blowing hot at cold this season.
Still bottom of the table with 29 points, Yeovil know a win will put them within touching distance with a run of winnable home games coming up.
By contrast, the Iron, currently in 17th will know that a win could take them as much as 10 points clear of the drop zone and even as high as 9th place in one jump.
Since taking over the manager’s position, Terry Skiverton has overseen two positive results at home and two defeats on the road.
A win over Crawley and a draw against in form Gillingham have sandwiched defeats at both Crewe and Doncaster.
Meanwhile, Scunthorpe are coming off back to back defeats, losing at Preston before defeat at home to Barnsley in midweek.
That midweek fixture for the Iron should mean Yeovil are better rested for the game after the Yeovil fixture in the Somerset Premier Cup was called off due to a waterlogged pitch.
The last time Scunthorpe gained a victory was a home win over Chesterfield on the 17th of Feb, that fixture did follow an even better win over Swindon on Valentines day.
Skiverton has made no secret of his desire to add another player to his squad, but at the time of writing no new names had been added ahead of the trip to Scunthorpe.
He does have a few selection issues to resolve however, a number of players including Joel Grant, Liam Davis and Nathan Ralph have returned to training and the match day squads recently and could be vying for a starting place, as could goal scoring hero Adam Morgan, his last gasp penalty secured a point last weekend.
There is also the conundrum of which of the club’s six loans to leave out, Ben Nugent was the unlucky sixth against Gillingham and a decision will have to be made with this fixture too.
The main injury worries surround Joe Edwards and Ajay Leitch Smith, both have missed the last two games after picking up knocks at Crewe. Both will be monitored up until the last possible moment.
As for the hosts, they have lost Neil Bishop who will serve the first of a two match ban and Matt Sparrow who has joined Cheltenham on loan.
They are monitoring Alex Davey and Marcus Williams but the latter is more than likely expected to be given the all clear ahead of the weekend.
The dangerman for the Iron is reasonably well known around these parts; over a dozen goals have already been notched under the name of Paddy Madden and the Glovers would like to keep it at that level for at least another 90 minutes.
Madden enjoyed his most successful season with Yeovil and his goals secured promotion to the Championship during the 2012/13 season.
Earlier in the season, back in August, the two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Huish Park.
Kieffer Moore opening the scoring after an hour before that man Madden netting the equaliser eight minutes from time.
Looking back at previous seasons, Yeovil are unbeaten against Scunthorpe in the last four meetings, winning 3-0 and 4-0 during the aforementioned promotion campaign.
The 4-0 win, at Glanford Park included a brace from Gozie Ugwu, then on loan from Reading and now on the books as a contracted member of the squad.
Before that, however, there are seven straight wins for Scunthorpe in the head to heads with an aggregate score of 10-2 between 2006 and 2011. The less said about those the better!
As has already been mentioned this weekend’s fixture is the prequel to three straight home game when Walsall, Oldham and Bristol City all visit Huish Park.
For those not making the trip on Saturday, may we point you in the direction of the online ticketing facility HERE.
You can secure your place for all three matches, either individually or in multiples to save on the transaction fees.
If you are heading north on Saturday, or planning on visiting Huish Park for any of those three fixtures, on behalf of Terry Skiverton, Darren Way and the squad, we’ve been asked to thank you in advance for your positive support.
Tickets for the Scunthorpe game are available on the day for those who make a late decision to travel up.
If anyone wants to stay at home, fear not, Glovers Player will have commentary in full and highlights and post match reaction will be on YouTube as soon as possible.
Scunthorpe United
Famous Fans: Ian Botham and former England manager Graham Taylor described the Iron as the ‘Number one team in the country’.
A Foot in Both Camps: Paddy Madden and England Cricketer Ian Botham played football for both!
Did you know? Scunthorpe United were the first club to ever get their shorts emblazoned with a sponsor’s logo.
