Our all-action preview ahead of the game with Shrewbsury on Saturday.
Shrewsbury Town
Sky Bet League 1
Saturday 30th November 2013
The Lamex Stadium, Stevenage
Kick Off: 3pm
Referee: Carl Berry (Surrey)
Weather forecast: Cloudy, 6 °c
Tickets:
This is a Category B game and remember, it's cheaper to buy your ticket in advance. Simply visit Boro Tickets and checking out the Category B "Match Day" columns.here and select the Shrewsbury game. Reading this after the Friday afternoon deadline? Then you can find ticket prices by clicking
Last time we met:
Shrewsbury scored a late winner to secure a 2-1 win over Boro back in February. James Dunne volleyed the visitors ahead on 20 minutes after controlling the ball on his chest, but that sparked Town into equalising 11 minutes later. Paul Parry fired home Chris Day's cross before on-loan striker Chris Porter headed over from close range. Town's 86th-minute winner was fashioned by their two substitutes, Jon Taylor crossing for Marvin Morgan to finish.
Boro: Arnold, Gray, Roberts, Chorley, Hills (Freeman), Shroot (Hoskins), Mahon, Dunne, Akins, Haber (Beleck), Charles
Subs not used: Arnold, Iro, Comminges, Grant
Last time we met AT HOME though, the Boro got a point thanks to this fine strike from Darius Charles:
Team news:
There’s no major injury news for Boro as Ben Chorley works his way back to fitness and Darius Charles is likely to be out until the end of the year. Suspension problems come in the form of Peter Hartley who is out after picking up a 5th booking against Gillingham on Tuesday night so there could be a recall for either Roarie Deacon or Bruno Andrade.
View from the dressing room:
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Betting:
You can get just over double your money if you place a single on Stevenage to win, as official betting partner of the football league, Sky Bet have generous odds of 5/4 for a home win.
As normal, Francois Zoko is the favorite to score first at 5/1 and you can back Zoko to score AND Stevenage to win at 21/10.
Keeping up with the Francois Zoko love-in; you can bet on him to score in both halves at 14/1!
Sign up to Sky Bet using any of the attached links to help the club earn revenue and you can bag yourself a free £5 bet a week with the game-changing Sky Bet Free Bet Club.
The Shrewsbury Town scout report:
Recent form:
Fans will see this game as having extra importance because of the position of the two teams. Shrewsbury are only one place, and two points above Boro so the opportunity to move away from the lower reaches of the table is up for grabs for the weekend’s victory. Shrewsbury have struggled to put together a good run of form this season and are yet to win away from home.
After beating Swindon in the third game of the season, the Shrews went on a 7 game win-less run which saw them flirt with the relegation places. Something of a revival has kicked in since, as home wins over Gillingham, Sheffield United and Notts County have given them a bit of breathing room.
The biggest problem this season for the team has been a lack of goals. Shrewsbury have an excellent defensive record – the 8th best in the league, but with just 18 goals scored they're in line with Boro as one of the lowest in the league.
Key Man:
Tom Bradshaw has five goals to his name this season for Shrewsbury. The 21-year old striker initially signed for the Shrews in May 2009 but has struggled to score regularly since, finding the back of the net just 10 times in the last four seasons. This year, however, he has goals against Swindon, Rotherham, Coventry, Bradford and Carlisle. The youngster has also been capped eight times for the Wales U21 squad, scoring on his debut against Montenegro.