Burton v Northampton preview

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Burton will check on Adam McGurk ahead of their final home game of the season against Northampton.

McGurk suffered a cut above an eye during the draw with Carlisle last week and missed the victory at Morecambe which sealed automatic promotion for Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s side.

Defender Stefan Maletic and striker Mickael Antoine-Curier continue to work their way back from hamstring problems but Hasselbaink still has plenty of options at his disposal with the likes of George Taft, Matty Palmer, Marcus Harness, Kelvin Maynard and Denny Johnstone ready for recalls.

Burton will be crowned champions if they win and Shrewsbury fail to take all three points at relegation-threatened Cheltenham.

Ryan Cresswell and Jason Taylor are back from bans for Northampton and could start at the Pirelli Stadium.

The pair have served their two-match suspensions and are available along with Marc Richards, who is fully fit following an Achilles issue.

The Cobblers are 10th, four points adrift of the play-offs with two games left, and boss Chris Wilder says they will fight to the end.

“Our attitude hasn’t changed in the last two games and we haven’t taken our foot off the gas,” he told the club’s official site.

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Burton v Northampton preview

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Gary Rowett and Kevin Poole will take charge of Burton for Northampton’s visit to the Pirelli Stadium.

Burton parted company with manager Paul Peschisolido on Saturday evening following the 4-1 home defeat to Torquay, a result that extended Albion’s winless run to 14 matches.

Rowett, Peschisolido’s number two, and goalkeeping coach Poole have vowed to be more ‘pragmatic’ and to ‘get back to basics’.

This could involve reverting to a more traditional 4-4-2 line-up, rather than the 4-1-2-3 formation Burton have been experimenting with during their winless run.

Captain John McGrath will probably remain sidelined for a fifth game with the foot injury he suffered last month while fellow midfielder Adam Bolder will complete a two-match ban. Defender Nathan Stanton is likely to miss out again with a hamstring injury.

Striker Billy Kee will not play again this season because of a persistent groin problem but Rowett and Poole have everyone else available, including striker Greg Pearson who has been recalled from his loan spell at League Two rivals Crewe.

Meanwhile, leading goalscorer Adebayo Akinfenwa is a concern for Northampton.

Akinfenwa limped out of the defeat at Accrington on Saturday with what looked like an ankle injury. The burly striker left the Crown Ground on crutches and with his left foot in a protective cast after he fell awkwardly during the second half.

Losing a player who has scored 16 goals this season would be a substantial blow to the Cobblers, who slipped to within two points of the npower League Two relegation zone by virtue of the weekend’s results.

However, boss Aidy Boothroyd is optimistic regarding Akinfenwa’s availability for the Burton game.

“I’m sure he’ll be okay. He’s a solid player is Bayo, he gets up and he gets on with it,” said Boothroyd. “He gets knocked and he gets smashed about and he often doesn’t get a lot of protection because he is too strong. He perhaps could have got a little bit more on Saturday but that’s just the way it goes. He should be okay.”

Should Akinfenwa not make it, on-loan Reading striker Brett Williams is likely to start. He came on for the forward on Saturday and scored his first goal for the club in the 2-1 defeat.

Burton v Northampton preview

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Burton will have Russell Penn available again.

The midfielder has completed a two-match suspension after accumulating 10 yellows cards this season and will be a strong contender to go straight back into the starting line-up following the 4-1 home defeat to Barnet on Saturday.

Club captain Darren Moore and fellow centre-half Tom Parkes were on the bench for that game after serving bans of their own and will also come into contention for recalls following a performance that boss Paul Peschisolido described as “embarrassing” and “shambolic”.

Full-back Scott Malone is fit again after a groin problem and is another option for Peschisolido.

Shaun Harrad, still Albion’s top scorer, returns to the Pirelli Stadium after making the switch to Northampton during the January transfer window.

Burton are just two points above the drop zone following the defeat to relegation rivals Barnet. Victory on Tuesday night will lift Albion above the Cobblers.

Northampton captain Andy Holt will again miss out.

Holt has missed the last three games with a knee injury and will not travel as the Cobblers look for a first win in 13 games to ease their growing relegation fears.

Manager Gary Johnson has yet to win since taking charge, and defeat at the Pirelli Stadium would see the Brewers leapfrog them into 21st in the table.

Striker Leon McKenzie was back on the bench at Accrington on Saturday after a knee problem of his own but has hardly trained and will not start.

Midfielder Ryan Gilligan has had surgery on a long-standing ankle problem and is sidelined for the rest of the season and striker Billy McKay is out for another month after dislocating his elbow.

Shaun Harrad will start in attack against his former club for the first time after he was suspended for Burton’s 3-2 win at Sixfields last month – a defeat which cost Ian Sampson his job.