Tranmere v Shrewsbury preview: Salop hunting first win of the season

The last time Town made the trip to Prenton Park was in 2019, and Aaron Pierre, who was a member of Shrewsbury’s squad last season, got the game’s all-important goal as they registered a 1-0 win. 

Shrews were initially given an allocation of 700 tickets for this weekend, but after they sold out, they were awarded another 300, which went within 12 hours. 

Both teams are yet to win this season. Town drew 0-0 with Bromley on the opening day, and Tranmere were on the receiving end of a late comeback at Colchester. 

The Super White Army finished 20th last time out as they took 51 points from 46 games with Andy Crosby being in charge from the end of February. 

Town will come up against Nohan Kenneh this weekend - a player who spent the 2023/24 season on loan at the Croud Meadow. 

Salop had a mixed opening day of the League Two campaign after the goalless draw with Bromley. They kept hold of the ball well and looked solid from a defensive point of view. 

But as Michael Appleton acknowledged in his post-match press conference, they can create more. They will have spent the last week working on that element of their game at their Sundorne Castle training ground. 

Callum Stewart was in fine form during pre-season. He scored four goals over the course of the summer, and he could be in contention to feature at Prenton Park if Appleton should choose to shuffle the pack. The centre forward, maybe surprisingly, did not make it off the bench last weekend. George Lloyd got the nod when debutant Anthony Scully came off late in the game. 

Tom Anderson, who was injured for the majority of the summer, made his debut against Bromley and got through 90 minutes of action. 

The defender played at the heart of the back three on the weekend, and he was pleased with what he saw from his new team-mates. 

"There was some good play from us, some good passages,” he said. "We were just missing maybe that killer instinct to go and put the ball in the back of the net. And just a bit more belief, maybe.

"But no, like I say, some positive stuff to take away from last weekend. 

"Once you get it rolling, once you get it going, that's when, hopefully, we can string a few results together.” 

Salop will have to hope that goalkeeper Elyh Harrison is fit for the game. He was set to make his Town and football league debut against Bromley, but he missed out due to the foot injury he picked up against Burnley in the final game of pre-season. 

They were unable to put a goalkeeper on the bench last week, so they will want to solve that problem sooner rather than later. 

They have a long midweek trip to Grimsby on the horizon too. That is a game that you would expect Appleton to make changes in.