Our prediction for this League 2 match:
After sharing the spoils with Port Vale on Tuesday evening, Rochdale will look to extend their unbeaten run to four games when they take on promotion-chasing Northampton on Saturday afternoon. The Dale showed character in the midweek draw, with defender James Ball saving one point in the stoppage time, but they will have a much bigger fish to fry against the Cobblers.
Northampton aim to stay in automatic promotion berth, and given their fine away record, we predict that the visitors are going to pick up all three points from the match. In the first half of the season Rochdale defeated Northampton 3-1, meaning that the Cobblers are hungry for revenge. A man to keep an eye on in the away team will be right winger Sam Hoskins, who has netted eight goals so far this season.
Highlighted Player (Eoghan O\'Connell):
Eoghan O’Connell is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a center back for Rochdale. O'Connell, who hails from the village of Douglas, was born on the 13th of August, 1995. In his early days, the defender used to play for two renowned Irish academies in College Corinthians and Avondale United before switching to the Celtic Academy in 2011.
He made his professional debut on the 29th of March, 2014, featuring in Celtic's 1-1 draw against Ross Country in the Scottish Premiership. His time at the Hoops included sporadic first-team appearances and loan spells with teams Oldham Athletic, Cork City, and Walsall. However, he won Celtic's Academy Player of the Year 2014 award and was included in the reputed Irish publication Journal.ie's " 10 most promising young Irish Footballers" article. His search for regular playing time brought O'Connell to Bury, whom he joined in June 2017.
He remained at the club for two seasons before signing for his current club Rochdale on a two-year contract starting on the 4th of July, 2019. Additionally, the 24-year-old has capped for the Republic of Ireland's under-19 and the under-21 team. He made his under-21 debut on the 2nd of September, 2017, in a 2-0 UEFA European Under-21 Qualifier win over Slovenia.
Highlighted Team (Northampton):
Northampton are a professional football club that compete in the League Two, the English fourth tier. The Cobblers play their home matches at Sixfields Stadium, the venue that has a capacity of 7,798. Northampton Town are well known for their claret and white home kit, while black is the dominant colour of their away jersey.
Northampton did well to make it to the Charity Shield final in 1909, with the team suffering a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United in the title game. The Cobblers are holding the record for the shortest time taken to secure promotion from the bottom tier to the top flight and relegated back down to the bottom again. Northampton Town managed to do so in only nine years.
Peterborough united are regarded as the club’s main rivals, with other significant rivalries including the likes of Oxford United, Milton Keynes Dons, Cambridge United, Coventry City, and Rushden & Diamonds.