Godden will start, but Stevens could also play

Posh boss Darren Ferguson has confirmed Matt Godden will replace top scorer Ivan Toney in Saturday’s crucial League One home game against Wycombe.

Toney will serve a onematch ban and Ferguson is not exactly spoilt for choice to replace him, even though rookie Matty Stevens has his supporters.

Some Posh fans were calling for Stevens’ introduction from the substitutes’ bench as Posh slipped to defeat against Shrewsbury at the ABAX Stadium last Saturday. Stevens was given the final 10 minutes.

Godden has scored 14 goals since moving from Stevenage in the summer, but none since December 15 and only one since November 10.

“Matt Godden will play on Saturday,” Ferguson stated. “I like him as a player. It’s up to me to get his confidence up as high as it obviously was for the first part of the season. It’s possible I could play Matty Stevens as well.

“Matt Godden had a great chance to score against Shrewsbury. He’d probably have scored with his eyes shut earlier in the season, but strikers are often like that. Confidence comes and goes, but we need Matt against Wycombe and we need him at his best.

“He makes intelligent runs and once he scores one goal he will go on to score many more.

“It’s a tough game against a very organised Wycombe side. Gareth Ainsworth has done a great job there, but we have to win this game. That’s always the bottom line.”

Daniel Lafferty is fit after missing the Shrewsbury game and he is expected to return to the Posh starting line-up at left-back in place of Tyler Denton.