Posh head to the County Ground to face Swindon Town on Saturday and Tim Stoodley looks ahead to the clash.
Peterborough United head south in this week's Sky Bet League One action, as they face struggling Swindon Town in the heartland of Wiltshire (3pm).
McCann's side face The Robins on the back of a defensive horror show against Bury last weekend. Posh are without a win in five but one of those defeats did come against the Premier League leaders!
This is the third of five straight away games in January and comes against a side who have their own share of problems. 18th in League One and winless in December, Swindon are a team who have struggled since current boss Luke Williams took the helm. His managerial win rate is just 28%, compared to the 44% victory-rate boasted by the Posh chief.
However, The Robins will be buoyed by a fantastic away win at title-challenging Bolton Wanderers last week. A decent 2-1 victory and a performance worthy of the points.
Scoring goals has been the issue for Swindon this term, indeed their top scorers, Jonathon Obika and John Goddard, have notched just three goals, a stat that boss Williams will be looking to repeal in the January window. They tend to favour a traditional 4-4-2, with the wide midfielders acting as conventional wingmen. It's a tactic that is patient, possession-based and one that looks to exploit any vacant space on the pitch.
There is quality throughout the squad, and none more so than between the sticks. Lawrence Vigouroux, who joined the club from Liverpool, is a quality 'keeper. Possessing a natural shot-stopping ability and impressive command of his area, he has, on more than one occasion this term, saved his team's bacon.
John Goddard is another impressive Robin, the winger joint leads the clubs top-scoring tally, as well as coming out on top of the assist charts. He is adept at commanding his line, whilst not being afraid to cut inside and create space. He also possess a few tricks up his sleeve and isn't afraid to take on his man one-on-one. He's represented England C on a couple of occasions after spending his youth career on the books at Reading.
Up top and the traditional front-man of Luke Norris is on Robin watch for Posh. He's featured more than any other striker for Swindon this season and has bagged a couple of goals along the way. He's one to observe as he does have an instinct to score and will be more than happy to clean up from any lapses in concentration, such as Posh showed last time out.
The man with the whistle for this game is Trevor Kettle, who has already taken charge of Posh this campaign. He was in control as Peterborough succumbed to a 0-1 defeat against rivals MK Dons in the EFL Trophy back in October. In total, he's officiated 19 games this season, dishing out an average of nearly five cautions per game. He's shown red twice, although they did come in the same game. He's an experienced referee with 14 years of Football League experience and is known to be lenient on players - preferring to man-manage rather than dish out cards.
Peterborough have already played Swindon in the league this season. The reverse of this fixture came back in September when the sides battled to a 2-2 draw at The ABAX Stadium. Gwion Edwards and Marcus Maddison scored the goals, before Swindon equalised through a penalty and a Jack Baldwin own-goal. Overall the sides have met on a large number of occasions, 62 to be exact! The spoils are shared pretty evenly, with Swindon taking the victory on 22 occasions and Posh on 21. History would suggest there is very little to split these two sides.
For Posh, Jermaine Anderson and Jack Baldwin remain out injured, whilst Harry Anderson is also on the sidelines. Dominic Ball will hope to have recovered from a slight knock to feature for his debut, while fellow new-signings Junior Morais and on-loan Martin Samuelsen will also be hoping for game time.
The County Ground is a traditional looking ground, that has an interesting mix of stands. Both sides are large, two-tiered and covered affairs, while behind the goals are much smaller, single-tiered outlets. Posh fans will be located in one of the side stands, The Arkells Stand, which is protected from the elements. Getting to the ground is easy, with the train station just a 10-15 minute walk away. If travelling by car, there is some street parking near to the ground, as well as several pay-and-display car parks. For example, The Saint Joseph Catholic College on Ocotal Way is just 10 minutes walk from The County Ground and match-day parking costs just £5.There is also limited parking at the ground itself, this costs £10 per car.
If you fancy a tipple before the game, then you're in luck! The County Ground boasts its own bar, exclusively for away fans. It's called Bar 71, but be warned, it does fill up quickly. Away from the ground and the best bet would appear to be The Merlin, on Drove Road. This pub welcomes away fans and also sports 12 large screens, showing Sky Sports prior to the match. Don't expect much change during your half-time stock up. A pie and cuppa will set you back £5.50 at The County Ground, some 50p more than the average for League One.
The key figures:
League positions; Swindon Town - 18th Peterborough United - 10th
Last five; Swindon Town-LLDDW Peterborough United - DDDLL
Previous meeting; 03/09/2016 (Sky Bet League One) - Peterborough United 2-2 Swindon Town
Average attendances (2015/16); Swindon Town - 7,409 Peterborough United - 5,447
Top Scorer (league); Swindon Town - Jonathon Obika & John Goddard (3) Peterborough United - Gwion Edwards & Tom Nichols (7)
Interesting fact: Swindon Town goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux originally joined The Robins on loan from Liverpool. During his loan spell he turned up late for training on one occasion and was handed a £50 fine by the club. Angry at his treatment he paid the fine with 5,000 1p coins. This resulted in Swindon swiftly terminating his loan. He later apologised and the loan was reinstated, before he joined the club permanently.
There is no price rise for tickets purchased on the day in Swindon and prices are pitched as follows; adults £25, over 65s and full time students (not available on match days) £19, under 21s (must be in possession of proof of date of birth) £12, under 18s £8 and under 11s £2. Wheelchair and ambulant disabled tickets are priced at £19 (carer goes free). Tickets can be purchased at www.theposhtickets.com, via the Ticketmaster hotline 0844 847 1934* and in person at the ABAX Stadium Box Office.
*calls cost 7ppm plus your network access fee.