Morecambe head into the game in 13th place in the table following last weekend’s home victory against Yeovil on a snow-covered Globe Arena pitch, a venue where Northampton were 4-2 victors in September thanks to goals from Lawson D’Ath, Sam Hoskins, Joel Byrom and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The Shrimps have recently strengthened their squad with the loan signing of Burnley defender Luke Conlan while leading goalscorer Shaun Miller netted his 10th goal of the campaign against Yeovil and has now scored in four consecutive matches.
Northampton have an excellent record against Morecambe having won 8 of the 13 previous meetings with 4 being drawn. Last season’s corresponding clash at Sixfields ended in a 2-1 victory for the hosts, clinched by Marc Richards’ goal.
Chris Wilder felt his side could have caused more problems to MK Dons in midweek although the key decisions in their FA Cup replay went against the Cobblers.
That meant the prospect of entertaining Chelsea in Round 4 was lost but the longer-term health of the club will benefit more from promotion and then becoming a stable League One side. Saturday’s game, in front a big crowd, could be another step on the road towards that.