Is tomorrow the day Argyle’s season truly begins?
Last week’s League One opener didn’t go to plan and the Pilgrims are on the back foot already. But, there are still 45 games to turn it around — let’s hope the charge towards promotion gets going now.
Wycombe Wanderers vs Argyle
🏆 League One
🗓 Saturday 22 August 2026
🕒 3.00pm
🏟 Adams Park
It’s only the second league game of the season and already there is a little bit of pressure on the Pilgrims. Last week’s chastening opening-day defeat at home to Stockport was an eye-opener for all the wrong reasons.
An improved performance is imperative, but getting a result is just as important. Should Argyle taste defeat again, then minds will be cast back to the start of last season when Tom Cleverley’s side lost each of the first four games. The best way to nip that narrative in the bud is to go out and deliver on Saturday and collect the points.
Argyle’s first away day of the season takes them to a familiar foe in Wycombe Wanderers. Adams Park has been the venue for a few tough afternoons and evenings in recent years. There was the League Two play-off semi-final defeat in 2015, a 1-0 loss in Argyle’s last League One relegation season in 2019 and an FA Cup first round exit just last season.
On the flip side, there was a narrow win in Derek Adams’ first season in charge back in 2015 and another one in the League One title-winning campaign under Steven Schumacher, but perhaps the biggest of of the lot came in December last year. A 1-0 victory on a cold Tuesday night sparked a three-match winning streak and a run of only one defeat in ten games as the Greens well and truly turned their campaign around.
Tomorrow’s game might not end up being as prophetic, but a win — or at least a draw and a good performance — should do wonders for the morale and confidence of the team and the fanbase.
🆚️ League One fixtures
Saturday 3pm kick-off unless stated
Sheff Wed 0-1 Bradford
Doncaster v Barnsley (12.30pm)
Luton v Notts Co (12.30pm)
AFC Wimbledon v Reading
Bromley v Cambridge
Leicester v Burton
MK Dons v Huddersfield
Peterborough v Mansfield
Stevenage v Oxford
Stockport v Blackpool
Wigan v Leyton Orient
Wycombe v Argyle
A wide midfield conundrum and a centre-back switch?
Cleverley has a few decisions to make this weekend. Assuming he retains his preferred 4-4-2 and doesn’t switch to the 4-2-3-1 that Argyle finished the Stockport game with, the question, once again, is about the wide midfield roles.
Last week, Xavier Amaechi was dropped in favour of Matty Sorinola, with Ronan Curtis moving to the left. But, Amaechi was one of Argyle’s better players when he replaced Sorinola midway through the second half, so has he done enough to earn a recall?
The next question is at centre-back. Alex Mitchell was withdrawn at half-time against Stockport with a knee tendon issue and Cleverley said that his minutes will need to be managed over the next couple of games.
That may mean that Julio Pleguezuelo, who replaced Mitchell on Saturday, comes into the line-up tomorrow. If Mitchell does start, then that might be a substitution that we can expect to happen later on.
Some good news on the injury front is that Caleb Watts will be back in the squad tomorrow. Watts hasn’t featured in a match, competitive or otherwise, since the end of last season, so is unlikely to play a major part against Wycombe. Although it’s not his natural position, he’ll provide a striking option from the bench, which is something Cleverley didn’t have last week.
Watts could be occupying Brendan Wiredu’s spot on the bench amid strong rumours linking the midfielder to League Two side Salford City. When asked about the rumour in yesterday’s press conference, Cleverley admitted he could be a player that could leave the club, so there appears to be a fair chance of that deal happening.
Cleverley also confirmed that Jack MacKenzie should be available for selection from next week, which will be a big boost to the defence. It means Alex Hartridge should keep his place on the left side for tomorrow and against Coventry in midweek.
Predicted XI:
Cooper; Harding, Ross, Pleguezuelo, Hartridge; Curtis, Boateng, White, Amaechi; Pepple, Evans.
📊 League One Table
⚪ 19. Doncaster — 0 pts (-1)
⚪ 20. Leyton Orient — 0 pts (-1)
🔴 21. Barnsley — 0 pts (-1)
🔴 22. Argyle — 0 pts (-2)
🔴 23. Peterborough — 0 pts (-2)
🔴 24. AFC Wimbledon — 0 pts (-3)
🟢 Automatic promotion 🟡 Play-offs 🔴 Relegation
Know the Opposition: Wycombe Wanderers
There was something of a similarity between Argyle and Wycombe in terms of how they fared in League One last season. A slow start cost Mike Dodds his job with the Chairboys down in 19th towards the end of September.
Michael Duff took over at Adams Park and led them up the table and firmly into play-off contention. However, unlike the Pilgrims, their season tailed off spectacularly, losing seven of their last 11 games to finish in 11th — 12 points off the top six and ten behind Argyle.
The teams met three times last season, with Wycombe winning the FA Cup first round tie at Adams Park in November before Argyle triumphed 1-0 in the league at the same venue a month later, before Bim Pepple’s stoppage-time goal rescued a 1-1 draw at Home Park at the end of December.
A familiar face is set to don the gloves for Wycombe tomorrow, with former Argyle number one Conor Hazard joining the Chairboys after turning down a new contract at Home Park. He arrives alongside experienced centre-half Steve Cook, with the 35-year-old having more than 150 Premier League appearances under his belt.
Cauley Woodrow is a new signing of sorts, with the forward making a permanent move from Luton after scoring nine goals while on loan from the Hatters last season.
Other key players for Wycombe, who generally employ a 4-2-3-1, include versatile midfielder Fred Onyedinma, who enjoyed the best season of his career in terms of goals, finding the net ten times in League One in 2025/26.
Wycombe come into this game off the back of a 1-1 draw at Blackpool in their opening league game, having lost 2-1 at home to Stevenage in the Carabao Cup first round the week before.
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Next edition: Monday’s Weekend Review.
Until then, thanks for reading.
Matt Friday
Founder, The Argyle Briefing
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