The football season is approaching the festive period and fans are beginning to understand the identity of their club for the 2016/17 campaign.
The month of December is jam packed with league games so approaching it in good form could be vital to a side’s January transfer dealings and whether they are pursuing promotion or trying to stave off relegation.
With that in mind, lets take a look at one club from each league who could be due a purple patch of form.
Championship: Ipswich Town
Mick McCarthy has been under fire recently with some sections of supporters calling for a change since the start of the season. The four-year boss even hit back at fans in August following a run of one win their opening 4 league games and remained defiant in the face of protests at Portman Road after a 2-2 draw with lowly Rotherham at the end of October.
Hope springs eternal for the longest serving tier 2 side though as they came away from Hillsborough with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday last time out and I am backing them to hit form with a run of 3 of their next 4 games at home to bottom half sides. It all starts with a visit from struggling Nottingham Forest this Saturday in the televised evening game.
After that, the Tractor Boys entertain QPR and Cardiff with a trip to top half Bristol City sandwiched in the middle. It’s a tall order, but avoiding defeat in the west country paired with a sweep of home wins should see the East Anglian club climb to the cusp of the playoff spots heading into the festive period, and I believe a determined McCarthy will get the team to produce the goods.
League 1: Rochdale
This may come as a surprise with the The Dale coming off the back of a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Bradford City but Rochdale have been night and day recently with regards to their home and away form, having won their last 5 at Spotland without conceding in 4. And it is there where they will play their next 2 matches, hosting 19th place Swindon and an in-form Walsall who are due a defeat.
Hoping to claim at least 4 points from the aforementioned games, Rochdale will then visit a Gillingham side struggling for goals and wins at Priestfield, a perfect place to snap their recent away hoodoo, before returning to the comforts of home for a battle with pack leaders Scunthorpe. If Rochdale’s dominant home form continues, they should be sitting pretty in the playoff spots this time next month.
League 2: Mansfield Town
Earlier this week Mansfield parted company with Adam Murray. The writing was on the wall for Murray with the Stags on a run of 1 win in 11 and coming off the back of a 4-0 drumming. The side will be in the joint hands of U-21 coach Mike Whitlow and youth team boss John Dempster, and the duo couldn’t have hoped for a better game to open their reign as caretakers than the visit of out-of-form Crawley. The Reds are on a run of 8 without a win in all competitions will need to be prepared for a ‘Town side full of players eager to impress a prospective new manager.
To follow, Mansfield will host an inconsistent Blackpool side making their second trip in four days before a challenging battle with automatic promotion hopefuls Carlisle who lost in the league for the first time all season last Saturday and may begin to see a regression back to the mean.
With a new manager and fresh ideas to come, the Nottinghamshire based club will hope to establish themselves in the top half of a league where, incredibly, they find themselves 2 points clear of relegation whilst being just 1 win away from the playoffs.
