By Deadly Submarine
March 17 2005

Friday night football returns to Prenton Park this week as Tranmere Rovers face Peterborough United in a game that holds equal importance for both teams. The reverse of the season’s opening day fixture kicks off at 7.45pm with both teams going all out for three points for very different reasons.

For Rovers it’s a chance to consolidate a play-off position and keep themselves in with a chance of playing in the Championship next season.  For the Posh, nothing but a win will do as they find themselves eight points from safety with just ten games remaining although they do have a game in hand on most of the teams around them.

 

Peterborough have only won twice on the road this season, at Swindon back in September and in their last away game at Chesterfield at the end of February.  They have also drawn away at Wrexham, Bradford, Mk Dons and Hull.

 

Rovers have already met Peterborough twice this season at London Road losing both times.  The first meeting was on the opening day of the season when a close game ended in disaster for Rovers ten minutes from time when they failed to deal with a long Andy Legg throw and Sagi Burton scored the goal that gave Posh a 1-0 win.

 

Since then the fortunes of both clubs have been so different with Peterborough facing a relegation battle compared with Rovers fight to gain promotion out of the division.  That didn’t stop Peterborough getting one over on Rovers for a second time when they met in the first round of the FA Cup in November, running out 2-1 winners at London Road with goal from Kennedy and Woodhouse either side of a Ryan Taylor free-kick. 

 

Many Tranmere fans will also still remember the 5-0 drubbing at London Road back in March 2002.  Interestingly though as the stats below show, Peterborough have never won at Prenton Park.

 

Probable Rovers Team: Achterberg, Taylor, Sharps, Jackson, Goodison, Roberts, Rankine, McAteer, Hall, Dadi, Hume.

 

Referee – Mr Andy Hall (West Midlands)

 

 

Team News

 

Tranmere’s only new injury worry for this game is striker Gary Jones who has chipped a bone in his toe and is likely to miss the rest of the season as a result.  Jones has also been linked this week with a move to Oldham but that could now be in doubt whilst he is injured.

 

Jones is added to Rovers’ list of long-term absentees that includes, David Beresford (hamstring), Simon Haworth (broken leg) and Calvin Zola (residency problems).  Other than that Brian Little has no other injury concerns and it is thought he will revert to the 3-5-2 wingback formation that he used successfully in the second half of last weeks 1-0 win at Hartlepool.

 

Peterborough United Manager Barry Fry will definitely be without Richard Logan and Adam Newton whilst Sagi Burton who scored the winner at London Road on the opening day of the season, is a doubt with a groin injury.  On the positive side, Curtis Woodhouse returns for posh after serving a two match ban and defender Mark Arber is expected to play despite a recent bout of flu.

 

Stat Attack!!

 

Past Meetings: