Tranmere v Wycombe: free football tips and match preview

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Tranmere v Wycombe in Sky Bet League One.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Football, midday Sunday

Best bet

Wycombe draw no bet
2pts 7-10 Coral

Team news

Tranmere
Calum Woods has returned to full training and could rejoin the squad but Ishmael Miller, Evan Gumbs, Mark Ellis, Harvey Gilmour, Jordan Ponticelli and Ollie Banks are injured.

Wycombe
Paul Smyth has recovered from a foot injury but Fred Onyedinma remains sidelined.

Match preview

Wycombe have never played higher than the third tier of English football but they have looked a force in Sky Bet League One and can climb to the top of the table by defeating struggling Tranmere at Prenton Park.

Taking Wycombe into the Sky Bet Championship would be a massive achievement for Chairboys' manager Gareth Ainsworth, who is attracting lots of interest.

Ainsworth was reportedly a contender for the Lincoln and Sunderland jobs before they went to Michael Appleton and Phil Parkinson, but only a very attractive offer would prise him away from Wycombe, where he has spent a shade over seven years transforming the club from fourth-tier strugglers to third-tier highflyers.

The 46-year-old is the longest serving manager among the top four divisions but retains the hunger to drive Wycombe further forward.

His team are probably not the most talented in League One but they are powerful and well organised with everybody knowing their jobs.

And the overall quality and depth of the squad has improved since Ainsworth got his recruitment spot on this summer.

Winger David Wheeler and right-back Jack Grimmer have slotted in seamlessly since moves from QPR and Coventry while Newcastle loanee winger Rolando Aarons is starting to sparkle following an injury-hit start to the season.

Aarons has netted twice in his last three appearances, taking some of the pressure off veteran 37-year-old target man Adebayo Akinfenwa, who tops their scoring charts with five league goals.

The league has been Wycombe's priority and they were not quite at their best last Saturday when drawing 2-2 at Tranmere in the FA Cup first round.

The teams face each other again in a replay at Adams Park on Wednesday and the extra workload is not doing any favours for injury-hit Tranmere, who are without six injured senior players.

Rovers' manager Micky Mellon has struggled to pick a settled side and the lack of cohesion may explain their poor defensive record of 28 goals conceded in 15 league games.

Relegation is a possibility if they fail to tighten up and defensive weaknesses may cost them this weekend.

Last weekend, Tranmere's lack of defensive focus was mirrored by Wycombe, who fell below their usual standards.

However, the Ainsworth's side are usually much tighter in league matches (conceding 14 in 16 this season) and look a solid wager on the draw no bet.