All eyes will naturally be on Louie Barry and Jay Stansfield heading into Stockport County’s trip to Birmingham City.
The young stars were undoubtedly two of the most coveted summer deals in League One and Wednesday’s meeting at St Andrew’s is the first time they’ll clash on the pitch this season.
But despite the headline grabber that Barry is — for good reason — the Hatters have another crucial player in their frontline.
He might not attract as much of the attention but he’ll be someone Blues will need to keep an eye on when the two clubs meet.
Kyle Wootton is more than capable of being the hero against Birmingham City
Kyle Wootton in action for Stockport County-2
Ask any County fan who has been their best player in this campaign and it’ll likely be too difficult not to name Barry; his 13 goals in 17 League One appearances make him the highest scorer across all four of England’s top divisions, ahead of the likes of Premier League giants Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.
But you wouldn’t need to go far down that typical County fan’s list to land on another name: Kyle Wootton.
Wootton's League One season, as per WhoScored
Starts (Sub)
Goals
Assists
Key passes per 90
Dribbles per 90
Pass success rate
There were reservations in some quarters heading into the season that he may not be capable of making the step up into the third tier, having looked slightly out of sorts on his return from injury last year, still contributing to the attacking numbers but not looking the player he was when he signed.
The 28-year-old soon smashed that notion to bits.
He netted three goals in the Hatters’ first four League One games, bagging assists in the first two, making it known that he was ready to make a real impact this term — and has so far done enough to keep last season’s top scorer, Tanto Olaofe, out of the team for now.
His combined nine goal involvements so far put him in third place in the overall league stats but his game has been about more than those headline stats.
Barry is top-class at running in behind a defence, beating a man and using his agility to latch onto any loose ball, but Wootton offers another approach, using his significant stature to battle defenders and make longer passes stick further up the field, before bringing a team-mate like the Villa loanee into play.
He’s also, predictably, a menace when the ball is played into the penalty area, with all six of his goals coming in or around the six-yard box, perfect for unlocking a steely and congested defence.
County have plenty of electric attacking threats, but Wootton has been the glue to knit them all together, and his absence is felt whenever he leaves the pitch — any increased focus on Barry will only give Wootton more space to operate, and he’s shown this season that he knows how to use it. He’s got everything it takes to be the unexpected hero of this game.
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There will be an extra bite to the game for Barry
Players like Wootton mean Blues can’t throw everything behind stopping leading goalscorer Barry, but they will need more than half an eye on him.
He’s proven time and time again this season that he can decide a game in an instant, even when he hasn’t been involved for the majority of the game.
And, should he need any, he’ll have plenty of extra incentive in this game.
Not only is it a meeting with one of the division’s biggest and best sides, but Blues are also, of course, the historic rivals of Barry’s parent club, Aston Villa.
Barry is attracting a lot of attention for his record in front of goal, and being tipped to make an impact higher up the pyramid, so a strong performance in this pressured environment will only increase that further.
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Barry is having the better season but Stockport must not sleep on Stansfield
Barry’s scoring record makes it difficult to conclude anyone in League One is currently having a better season than him, and Wootton will provide plenty of additional threat himself, but that doesn’t mean the Hatters can sleep on Blues’ own threats.
Fulham boss Marco Silva seemingly had every intention of introducing Jay Stansfield into his Premier League squad this season, such is his quality, but an offer thought to be as high as £15million was too difficult for the Cottagers to refuse.
He scored 12 Championship goals last season and already has seven in 10 third-tier appearances this season — he will take some stopping on Wednesday.
It’s easy to see why much of the focus will be on Barry and Stansfield, two of the division’s most exciting talents, but, especially with the way he’s quietly going about his business this season, the game is set up nicely for a player like Wootton to be the surprise hero.