Setting Saturday’s scene:
The first round of this seasons FA Cup provides the first meeting of Tranmere Rovers and Wycombe Wanderers since March 2015.
Although falling out of the Caraboa cup in the first round, Micky Mellon will be hoping that his side can progress further similar to the Leasing.com trophy progression.
This round of the FA Cup has previously provided special moments for ‘The Superwhites’, such as the 2-1 victory at Portsmouth which set up a season of FA Cup miracles : beating Southampton 4-3 after being 3-0 down at half time and beating Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park.
Standing in their way are a Wycombe Wanderers side who sit at the top of the League one table, managed by former footballer Gareth Ainsworth. Tranmere’s opposition this weekend have only lost one of their opening sixteen league fixtures, thus the game is set to be very tough and physically demanding.
Team news:
Mellon will be without : Evan Gumbs, Mark Ellis, Harvey Gilmour, Jordan Ponticelli and Ollie Banks.
Meanwhile, Darren Potter is recovering from bruised ribs.
On a positive note, Calum Woods and Morgan Ferrier are back in training at The Campus and could be available for selection.
One to watch:
Gareth Ainsworth’s ‘one to watch’ is 23 year old forward Scott Kashket, who has played for ‘The Blues’ since August 2016.
The Essex born man started his professional career at Leyton Orient, making 16 appearances with the Brisbane Road club either side of a loan spell at Non-league Welling United.
Man in the middle:
Martin Coy, who’s residence is in Durham, will officiate this Saturday’s cup fixture. This season, Martin Coy has awarded 47 yellow cards but no red cards in the eleven matches he has officiated so far. The referee’s last involvement with Tranmere was when he officiated the home win against Crewe Alexandra in March 2019.
Past meetings:
Tranmere have competed against Wycombe Wanderers on twelve occasions. The record against ‘The Chairboys’ stands at won seven, drawn one and lost four.
Did you know:
This Saturday will be the first time that Tranmere have met Wycombe in the FA Cup.
What happened last season in this round?
Tranmere’s first round of the FA Cup last season provided a 3-3 draw with Oxford City FC, James Norwood scoring in the last minute after a Conor Jennings brace to set up a replay at ‘Court Place Farm’. Micky Mellon’s side beat Oxford City 2-0, in a game shown on BT Sport cameras, with goals from James Norwood and Paul Mullin.