Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs. Shrewsbury Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Plymouth Argyle will look to continue their bid to climb back into the top six of the League One table on Saturday, when they welcome Shrewsbury Town to Home Park.

The Pilgrims dropped out of the playoff places after a tough run of form but have since posted back-to-back victories heading into this weekend's clash.

Match preview

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After a strong start to the campaign, Plymouth Argyle's form took an eye-catching hit around the turn of the year, coinciding with the exit of former manager Ryan Lowe when the side were sat fourth.

The Pilgrims earned just two victories and eight points from a run of 10 games between November and January, but they have seemingly corrected their fortunes recently.

After being held to a draw in disappointing fashion by Fleetwood Town, they arrested a slump with a 3-1 away victory over Doncaster Rovers before narrowly falling short to European Champions Chelsea after extra time in their FA Cup fourth-round clash at Stamford Bridge, earning commendation in the process.

Now under the management of Steven Schumacher, the Home Park outfit made it back-to-back league wins on Tuesday, as they came from behind to defeat Crewe Alexandra 4-1 away from home with Ryan Hardie hitting a hat-trick alongside a Niall Ennis goal in an inspired second-half performance.

That saw Plymouth move back within three points of the top six, and, with a game in hand on most sides above them, the Pilgrims now sit in a far more enviable position in their pursuit of a playoff place, with the chance to further strengthen their bid on Saturday.

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They welcome a Shrewsbury Town side who will look to end a seven-game winless run in League One, having previously earned a commendable tally of 29 points from their opening 24 matches.

The Shrews have since picked up just five points from the last seven outings, although that does include four straight draws heading into Saturday.

After 1-1 draws with Gillingham and Fleetwood Town, Steve Cotterill's side earned a particularly commendable point last time out, as they played out a goalless stalemate away at promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday.

Despite only suffering a single league defeat since the turn of the year, the Shrews have been harmed by their struggles to find victories recently, and, with just a five-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone, they will be keen to end their drought and post an elusive win on their travels on Saturday.

Team News

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Schumacher is likely to deploy an unchanged starting XI after his side's recent improvements, with Ryan Hardie bound to keep his place at the top end of the pitch after taking his tally to 12 league goals for the season with his hat-trick last time out.

Niall Ennis and Luke Jephcott have both also enjoyed stellar campaigns in front of goal, and they will battle to join Hardie in the front two.

Elsewhere, the back three of Macauley Gillesphey, Dan Scarr and James Wilson should not be altered after their solid recent displays.

Their visitors similarly have an established back three, with Matthew Pennington, Ethan Ebanks-Landell and Aaron Pierre impressing as a unit recently.

Striker Daniel Udoh will hope to return to the starting XI, with the Nigerian having been reduced to a substitute appearance last time out despite netting eight league goals so far this campaign.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Wilson, Scarr, Gillesphey; Broom, Camara, Randell, Mayor, Law; Ennis, Hardie

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Pennington, Ebanks-Landell, Pierre; Bennett, Vela, Davis, Fornah, Nurse; Bowman, Udoh

We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Shrewsbury Town

Given the form of the two sides, we can only envisage a narrow home win on Saturday.

Shrewsbury have proven themselves to be tough to defeat, but, with renewed confidence, the hosts will back themselves to get over the line in what will be a tough test.

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