Sixfields Pointers

The Pilgrims’ fourth Sky Bet League 2 fixture of the season will feature two sides with similar stories for the 2015-16 campaign: both clubs have genuine aspirations for promotion, have taken six points from their first three league games, and boast a number of exciting new signings. 

“They’ve started the season well, like ourselves,” said Derek. “We’ll see what it’s like to go away from home; we did well in our first game at Wimbledon, and we’re looking forward to it.

“If you look at the club and their finances, they would be one of the clubs that you would expect to be in the top region of the table."

The Greens and the Cobblers have both recorded 32 victories in their 83 fixtures between the sides, though Argyle have only lost one of the last eight meetings. Argyle have actually won the last four encounters, including victories at Sixfields in their last two meetings. 

Northampton will be looking to bounce back from a midweek defeat to Barnet, and will have one eye on their Capital One Cup tie with Newcastle next week, but Adams expects his side to be more than ready for the challenge. 

“They rested a few players from Saturday on Tuesday night,” said Derek. “They left four players out that had a very good win, 3-0 against Exeter, and changed their team around a bit, so I presume they’ll go back to more or less the same team that played on Saturday. 

“We have to be ready for that. They’ve got [Jason] Taylor out suspended, who played in both games. They’re a team that play 4-4-2 or a 4-4-1-1, and they’ve had a decent start to the season. 

“We expect it to be an open match. I can see them coming at us, and we can play on the counter attack as well, at times. 

“They probably will be looking towards it [the Newcastle game], but they’ll be looking to put on a good performance, to try and get in the team to play Newcastle. 

“It was going to be a competitive game to start with, and that just makes it even more competitive.”