Plymouth v Cheltenham preview

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Plymouth will be without Andres Gurrieri when they host Cheltenham.

The Argentine midfielder picked up a straight red in the 3-0 away loss at Rochdale last weekend and he will now serve the first of his three-match ban against the Robins on Saturday.

Manager John Sheridan will also be without right-back Durrell Berry who will be sidelined for another month with a groin injury having not featured since half time of their 3-2 home defeat to Port Vale in the FA Cup.

But new signing Matt Parsons is pushing for a start on Saturday having joined from Crystal Palace this week.

Cheltenham will be without influential midfielder David Noble when they make the trip to Plymouth.

The former Exeter midfielder looked set to return to action this weekend having been sidelined with a hamstring injury but the Rotherham loanee has suffered a set-back and been ruled out.

Another former Grecian likely to get a hostile reception at Home Park is Jamie Cureton and the 38-year-old striker looks set to keep his place having netted his sixth of the campaign in the 2-1 loss to Accrington last weekend following his recall to the side.

That defeat was the Robins’ third in a row but manager Mark Yates says he is unlikely to bring in any fresh faces before kick-off.

Plymouth v Cheltenham preview

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Argyle manager John Sheridan will be without Conor Hourihane.

The skipper, 22, picked up his 10th yellow card of the season for a mistimed tackle on York’s Daniel Parslow in the second half of their 2-0 defeat to Nigel Worthington’s men, which means he will miss the Pilgrims’ next two matches.

Midfielder Lee Cox is also a doubt for their penultimate home game of the season as he is yet to fully recover from a shoulder injury suffered in the win over Exeter.

Argyle will enter the clash just a point better off than York and two points above bottom side Aldershot after most of the sides around them in the table picked up positive results on Monday.

Russ Penn looks set to return to Cheltenham’s starting line-up.

The 27-year-old, who has made 45 appearances for the Robins this season, was rested for the 1-0 win over Northampton and was introduced with a minute to go.

Manager Mark Yates has no fresh injury worries as his side look to close the three-point gap on second-placed Port Vale in the League Two table.

Long-term injury absentee Harry Hooman remains sidelined while Kaid Mohamed and Jason Taylor are pushing for starts.

Sam Deering and Keith Lowe came into the side for the win over the Cobblers and both will hope to keep their places for the clash with relegation-threatened Argyle.

Plymouth v Cheltenham preview

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Plymouth defender Darren Purse will miss the last game of the League Two season.

The 35-year-old has had a minor operation on a recurring knee problem and will be unable to line up alongside Maxime Blanchard at the back.

For the Pilgrims’ top scorer Simon Walton, the season is already over as he prepares to sit out a third straight game due to a shoulder injury.

The participation of fellow midfielder Paul Wotton is in doubt. If the 34-year-old was to receive a yellow card against the Robins, he would be suspended for the first three games of next season thanks to the disciplinary totting-up procedure.

Striker Nick Chadwick is struggling with a knee injury and he will be given the summer to recuperate, while veteran forward Steve Fletcher has been recalled to Bournemouth.

Argyle boss Carl Fletcher may decide to blood some of his younger players, with 20-year-old goalkeeper Ollie Chenoweth a possible beneficiary.

Meanwhile, Cheltenham boss Mark Yates is expected to shuffle his pack with one eye on the forthcoming League Two play-off campaign.

Yates has a fully-fit squad at his disposal and defender Keith Lowe could be restored to the starting line-up alongside striker Darryl Duffy after both featured as substitutes in the closing stage of last weekend’s 3-1 win over Bradford.

Despite the match essentially being a dead rubber, Robins assistant manager Neil Howarth believes it could provide a useful springboard ahead of the play-offs.

“The Plymouth match is one that we want to go and win,” he told Cheltenham’s official website. “It’s still part of the league campaign and we will approach it no differently to any other this season.

“It will be a tough game but perhaps one where the pressure is off a little. We will certainly be going there to win.

“We want to go into the play-offs with a run of form bit we may give opportunities to a few of the players.”