Football Tips

The appointment of Luke Williams has produced an immediate impact for Peterborough, his ideas have quickly been implemented, and a new identity on the pitch is beginning to emerge. They played some terrific passing football in their 5-0 win against AFC Wimbledon, racking up an extremely impressive 4.18 xG. The visitors were caught cold and found themselves 3-0 down after just 36 minutes.

Peterborough should be full of confidence after that ruthless performance, and although Stockport have a sturdy defence, the hosts will be confident of getting on the scoresheet here. Luke Williams’ team have found the net in all three of his matches since taking over. 

Stockport’s defeat to Luton was the first time they have failed to score in a league match this season, there is clearly a tendency to find the net, exemplified by their 1.81 xGF across their last five league games.

Dave Challinor’s side are becoming extremely effective at this level; they are very adept at grinding out results and avoiding defeat. Stockport only lost eight matches in the league last season. We’re now 15 games into this season, and they’ve only lost three times.

A key component of Stockport’s success is their ability to bounce back from disappointing defeats and performances; they haven’t lost back-to-back league matches last season or this season. A defeat at the weekend would spell the end of this terrific record.

Peterborough have undoubtedly improved under the stewardship of Luke Williams, but this will be their toughest test yet. The emphatic win against AFC Wimbledon was a big statement to their relegation rivals, but Wimbledon were on the back of a defeat against lowly Burton and a sobering FA Cup defeat to National League opposition. It’s fair to speculate Wimbledon’s confidence had taken a hit.