Northampton Town expert tips Cobblers to end Doncaster Rovers’ unbeaten start

The Cobblers and Rovers have both managed to avoid defeat in their opening five games in League Two and are two of just four sides yet to lose this term.

But Northampton Town correspondent James Heneghan thinks Saturday’s visitors to Sixfields Stadium will leave disappointed.

He provided The Free Press with the lowdown on the Cobblers ahead of the clash, which you can read below.

What's your assessment of Northampton's start to the season?

Steady if unspectacular. Eleven points from five games represents a strong start but performances have been mixed and they have had to rely on late goals to remain unbeaten. Jon Brady is still trying to find a balance between attack and defence - they look good going forward but shaky at the other end, something borne out by the statistics. No team in League Two have scored more (11) but only two have conceded more (8).

What are the expectations for this year?

Automatic promotion has to be the target after going so close last season. They have recruited well and kept together the bulk of last season's squad so a top three push should not be beyond them and that's what most supporters are expecting.

Who must Doncaster look out for this weekend in a Cobblers shirt?

Sam Hoskins is the obvious answer. He is the country's top scorer this season with seven goals in five games, two more than anyone else. He's also coming off successive braces against Crewe and Crawley and can both create and score from a wide role, either left or right. Mitch Pinnock was Northampton's main creative player last season but is yet to find his best form.

Tell us something we don't know about this Northampton team.

No team in the division have used fewer players (16) so far this season. Injuries have limited Jon Brady's options and at the moment he's operating with quite a small core of players. I expect that to change when injuries clear up and maybe another signing or two comes in.

Likely starting XI

4-3-3: Burge; Lintott, Magloire, Guthrie, Koiki; McWilliams, Fox, Leonard; Hoskins, Pinnock, Appéré.

Prediction for Saturday's match

2-1 Northampton win.