Swindon Town v Walsall

Swindon Town have risen back into the League Two play-offs after an impressive past couple of results.

Ben Garner’s side are starting to hit some form at the right time and have won their past two games 3-0 against lowly Scunthorpe United and Carlisle United. They have been creating chances and scoring goals for fun over their past couple of matches and have been boosted by the return of midfielder Louis Reed  after he was suspended. He has stepped in well for the injured Jack Payne and is working well in a midfield trio alongside youngsters Ellis Iandolo and Ricky Aguair, who are providing lots of energy and enthusiasm in the middle of the park. Swindon’s manager has recently ruled out the chances of delving into the free agent market for any new signings between now and the end of the season which suggests he is happy with the options he has at his disposal now. The Wiltshire club brought in six new signings in January in Joe Tomlinson, Jake O’Brien, Brandon Cooper, Emmanuel Idem, Louie Barry and Josh Davison to freshen up their ranks and boost their promotion hopes. The latter two are on loan from Aston Villa and Charlton Athletic respectively and have injected some serious firepower into their squad. They have points to prove to their parent clubs after disappointing seasons elsewhere so far, scoring just a combined two league goals before they rocked up at the County Ground this winter. They both bagged in the win away at Carlisle last time out and form the composition a useful front three alongside key player Harry McKirdy, who has chipped in with an impressive 15 goals and nine assists in 33 appearances in all competitions this season. 

Walsall are on a roll and have beaten top two Tranmere Rovers and Forest Green Rovers against the odds in their past two games. The Saddlers made the tough decision to sack Matt Taylor last week after a run of eight games without a win but appear to have made the right call. Former Newport County boss Michael Flynn has been appointed as their new manager and made a dream start to life with the Midlands club after becoming the first team to beat Forest Green in 19 matches. The Welshman is proven at this level and guided his former club to the play-offs twice during his four years at Rodney Parade. He said his side have made a “good start” but need to “back it up” now with a positive result against Swindon. Their striker, George Miller, scored just his 2nd goal of 2022 against Rob Edwards’ side but will be hoping he is the man to step up and replace the goals of Kieran Phillips, who left the club in January after being recalled by Huddersfield Town. 

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Colchester United v Hartlepool United 

Hartlepool United are in impressive form under Graeme Lee as they look to end the season in positive fashion. 

The Pools held promotion chasing Sutton United to a 1-1 draw last time out thanks to midfielder Tom Crawford’s equaliser in the second-half. Their manager said it was a “good result” and it sees them rise into the top-half of the League Two table, eight points off the play-offs with 15 games left to play. There is no reason why the North East outfit can’t look up the table and target a late push for the top seven, especially based on the fact they are now seven games without a defeat. Hartlepool also make the trip down to Colchester United on the back of three away matches without a loss against Carlisle United, Exeter City and Crawley Town so will be in confident mood. In terms of team news, attacker Jordan Cook’s recovery from a tight injury has been delayed which means the likes of Omar Bogle, Marcus Carver and Isaac Fletcher have less competition for their places at this moment in time. This has turned into a positive thing though, especially for Bogle who has been enjoying getting plenty of game time under his belt after falling out of favour at former Doncaster Rovers. He joined the Pools in January and has since impressed by chipping in with two goals in six appearances. Striker Mark Cullen was left out of the squad against Sutton and Lee has admitted that his future at the Suits Direct Stadium is now in doubt, despite only joining the club last summer and scoring six goals already this term. 

Colchester sacked Hayden Mullins last month and replaced him with Wayne Brown in temporary charge. The Essex club initially started to pick up some results under the former Ipswich Town and Hull City centre-back but have been knocked back down to earth now. There is no doubt that the U’s are in a relegation dogfight between now and the end of the campaign and are currently sat in 21st, just three points above the bottom two after their 3-0 thumping away at Northampton Town over the weekend. Brown said their defending was “criminal” and the defeat to the Cobblers means his side are three matches without a win now. Colchester’s home results have been poor and they haven’t won at the Colchester Community Stadium in their last five outings there, with their last victory on home soil coming way back on 23rd November against Exeter City. They have missed January signing John Akinde over the past few matches as he has had Covid. He was brought in last month to add some more firepower up front but it is yet to be known whether he will be back for the game against Hartlepool which is a blow. Freddie Sears was the man to step in and lead the line up front again against Northampton but was painfully starved of service and hasn’t scored for the past three games now. 

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