Out-of-form Cobblers could drag Peterborough United closer to the relegation zone tonight, plus latest 'supercomputer' predictions
The gap between Peterborough United and the relegation zone will come down to nine points if out-of-form Northampton Town beat bottom club Port Vale at Sixfields on Tuesday night.
A win for Cobblers would take them out of the bottom four ahead of derby day against Posh, also at Sixfields, on Saturday. Cobblers have won one and lost eight of their last 12 League One games to drop to 22nd, but manager Kevin Nolans remains confident his side will stay up.
Nolan told the Northampton Chronicle & Echo: “I always knew it was going to be a tough season. If we survive this season it would be the first time the club have stayed at this level for this long in 60 years. That's the reality of where we are. We're working our socks off to make sure that happens and that we are rewarded at the end of the season.”
This is Cobblers third successive season in League One after winning promotion from League Two in the 2022-23 season. Posh have not played lower than League One since the 2007-08 season.
Burton Albion, who are currently fifth from bottom, are at home to promotion-chasing Stockport County tonight, while struggling Rotherham United have a tough Yorkshire derby at Bradford City. Rotherham are next-to-bottom, five points from safety.
The Posh fightback from 3-1 down to 3-3 against Exeter City at London Road last Saturday left Luke Williams’ side 11 points clear of the relegation zone, although every team below tham has at least one game in hand.
The AceOdds Supercomputer 'Betsie’ doesn’t hold out much hope for Cobblers. They have generated a predicted final table by simulating the league season 100,000 times, taking into account all results from pre-season and the current campaign. It projects outcomes based on pre-season expectations, fixture difficulty, and underlying performance metrics such as xG for and against.
This season, BETSiE also integrates team financial data and player values from Transfermarkt, adding a deeper layer of insight into squad strength and potential performance variations.
Predicted final table: 1 Cardiff, 2 Lincoln, 3 Bolton, 4 Stockport, 5 Bradford, 6 Huddersfield, 7 Luton, 8 Stevenage, 9 Plymouth, 10 Reading, 11 Wycombe, 12 POSH, 13 Barnsley, 14 Exeter, 15 Mansfield, 16 Doncaster, 17 Wimbledon, 18 Orient, 19 Blackpool, 20 Burton, 21 Wigan, 22 Rotherham, 23 Cobblers, 24 Port Vale.