Blues travel to League One side Swindon Town tonight, as we enter the second part of pre-season. We've now got 4 games in the space of 10 days, before the start of the season in August. Certainly in the next 3 games, I would expect Clark to use a lot of squad rotation to give players that extra chance to prove their worth to the team. It'll be interesting to see who shines tonight.
About Swindon
Swindon have had a successful last couple of seasons. They were surprisingly relegated from League One in bottom place 2010-11, but were promoted back there as League Two champions the following campaign, under Paolo Di Canio. Their first season back saw them just miss out on a play-off final place, losing narrowly to Brentford. And this pre-season has seen them attain some mixed results. Firstly, they beat their mini-rivals, Swindon Supermarine 3-1, but 10 days later they lost 2-0 away to Forest Green. Last night, my research tells me they fielded a strong team against Gareth Bale and Tottenham Hotspur, and managed to get a 1-1 draw. However, if they play us a day later, it's fair to predict they'll play a second string team.
Starting XI
The team news this week is that Darren Ambrose and Nikola Zigic are out for a week due to groin and back strains respectively. Adeyami and Green are doubts, but will be fully fit for Oxford if they don't travel tonight.
It's difficult to predict what team Clark will go with, because I think he'll use a lot of substitutions to keep the team fresh and give different players a chance. I think he'll stick with the 3 at the back system he's used so far. Randolph in goal, and a back 3 of Bartley, Burn and Robinson, although Robinson might be taken off at half time for his fitness. Wingbacks in Eardley and Hancox, as it's reportedly unlikely that we'll sign Davis on a transfer now. Midfield would be Elliott and Reilly playing in a deeper, slightly defensive minded role.
The interesting bit is our attacking options, as Lee Novak is our only fully fit striker. If I was Clark, I would be tempted to try a 'Christmas Tree' system. I'd go with two inside forwards in Chris Burke and Kobe Arthur, cutting in from the right and left, to make runs in behind Novak. This could be particularly effective because Novak likes to track back and help the midfield. There's a chance that Swindon's defence won't know whether to go with him or not, and either Burke or Arthur can make attacking runs into the space.
Seeing as he's not gone on loan and the U21 squad haven't got a game in the next few days, and due to our lack of forwards, I would tip youth product Reece Hales for a place on the bench. I could also see second half run-outs for Fry, Mullins, Higgins and Lee, if they don't start.
My Prediction
For this game, the likelihood is that Swindon will play a very weakened team to the one that drew with Tottenham last night. Either that, or the whole team will be very tired from that match. Therefore I'd hope that we can come away from the game with a win, despite the shortage of strikers. I'll go with 2-0 to Blues.
By Gabriel Sutton
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