Northampton v Accrington preview

Team news for Saturday's League Two clash between Northampton Town and Accrington Stanley at Sixfields Stadium.

Last Updated: 09/03/13 at 14:18   

Chris Hackett: Makes his return

Chris Hackett: Makes his return

Chris Hackett will return to the starting line-up for Northampton.

Hackett has been rested in recent weeks due to niggling aches and pains and Town boss Aidy Boothroyd has admitted he has treated the midfielder as "a special case" for the long-term benefit of the team.

Boothroyd, who aside from Alex Nicholls (broken leg) has a fully-fit squad to choose from, believes Hackett's return to action will be like "unleashing a new player".

He told reporters ahead of the game: "I made the decision to leave Chris Hackett out last weekend.

"He is going to be very important for us in these last 10 games and I didn't want to risk losing him for a longer period by playing him when he wasn't quite 100% right.

"I've made him a bit of a special case but he's fit now and he's raring to go. He has no pain whatsoever so it will be like unleashing a new player against Accrington on Saturday."

Accrington manager Leam Richardson's list of absentees remains the same.

Tom Aldred is set to continue in defence with on-loan Bury centre-back Mark Hughes sidelined due to a calf injury that could keep him out for the rest of the season.

Striker Padraig Amond visited a specialist this week to get to the bottom of his groin/abductor complaint. The Irishman is closing in on a return but this weekend is likely to come too soon for him.

Goalkeeper Ian Dunbavin and forward Craig Lindfield are still out due to respective shoulder and ankle injuries.

Stanley edged out of the relegation zone thanks to four points from their previous two games, and skipper Luke Joyce hopes they can capitalise on any after effects Northampton might be feeling from a loss to Exeter last time out.

"We need to go there and start well," he said. "They'll be disappointed with the result they had at the weekend and if we can play on it, any nerves and disappointment they've got from it, then we'll make the most of it."

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League Two Fixtures

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npower League 2

Position Team P GD PTS
1 Gillingham 46 27 83
2 Rotherham 46 15 79
3 Port Vale 46 35 78
4 Burton Alb 46 6 76
5 Cheltenham 46 7 75
6 Northamptn 46 9 73
7 Bradford 46 11 69
8 Chesterfld 46 15 67
9 Oxford Utd 46 -1 65
10 Exeter 46 1 64
11 Southend 46 6 61
12 Rochdale 46 -2 61
13 Fleetwood 46 -2 60
14 Bristol R 46 -9 60
15 Wycombe 46 -10 60
16 Morecambe 46 -6 58
17 York City 46 -10 55
18 Accrington 46 -17 54
19 Torquay 46 -7 53
20 AFC W'don 46 -22 53
21 Plymouth 46 -9 52
22 Dag + Red 46 -7 51
23 Barnet 46 -12 51
24 Aldershot 46 -18 48

Updated Sat, 27 Apr 2013

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