Plymouth vs Stockport preview: Super Eagles’ Owen Oseni chases opening-day involvement

Super Eagles striker Owen Oseni will be in the Plymouth Argyle matchday squad when the Pilgrims host Stockport County in their League One opener on Saturday, August 15, 2026, Afrik-Foot reports, though the Waterford-born forward may have to settle for a place on the bench with summer signing Will Evans expected to partner Aribim Pepple in attack.

It is the first competitive league fixture of the season for both clubs, with Plymouth hosting Stockport at Home Park and both sides beginning campaigns widely tipped to end in a promotion push.

Plymouth Argyle vs Stockport County Preview and Recent Form

Plymouth have gone unbeaten through pre-season under Tom Cleverley, capping the summer with a 2-0 Devon derby victory over Exeter City in the Carabao Cup first round on Monday. Late strikes from summer signing Alex Hartridge and Pepple sealed the win in front of a raucous Home Park crowd.

The friendly schedule included a goalless draw with Championship side Bristol City, which fed genuine belief that the Pilgrims are ready to challenge at the top end of the third tier this season.

The summer transfer window has, however, stripped Plymouth of their headline attacking weapon: Lorent Tolaj (£4m to Bristol City) departed after leading the club’s scoring charts, though the money has been reinvested into Mansfield Town’s Will Evans and the permanent return of defender Alex Mitchell from Charlton Athletic. Wes Harding has also arrived to bolster the back line.

Stockport arrive in Devon with rather more mixed momentum. Jim McNulty’s tenure opened with a 1-1 home draw against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup, Kyle Wootton’s leveller cancelling out Alfie May’s opener before the Hatters exited on penalties.

Pre-season was more encouraging: three wins over Bristol City, Oldham Athletic and Preston North End came without a single goal conceded, hinting that the defensive foundations built under previous manager Dave Challinor remain intact even after the coaching change.

The Hatters finished third in League One in 2025-26, losing the play-off final to Bolton Wanderers, and the summer has undergone significant surgery: goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond joined from Plymouth in an intriguing subplot to this fixture, while Ben Osborn made his loan from Derby County permanent after 38 league appearances last term.

Plymouth Argyle vs Stockport County Head-to-Head Record

The two clubs have met four times competitively over the past two seasons, with Plymouth taking control of the fixture. The Pilgrims have won four of the last six competitive meetings between the sides across all competitions.

The most recent Home Park meeting came in September 2025, when Plymouth ran out 4-2 winners in a Round 7 League One clash. The reverse fixture at Edgeley Park in January 2026 produced a lower-scoring outcome, though goals were shared at both ends.

Plymouth have also won each of their last three home matches against Stockport by a margin of two goals or more across all competitions, a pattern of home dominance worth noting when framing this fixture.

Team News: Injuries, Doubts and Predicted Lineups

Plymouth appear to have no fresh injury concerns following the Exeter victory, and Cleverley is expected to make minimal changes from that starting XI. That is likely to be difficult reading for Oseni supporters, with the summer arrival of Will Evans from Mansfield giving the Argyle head coach a new option to partner Pepple in a physical front two.

Oseni, the Super Eagles striker who joined Cleverley’s squad from St Mirren last summer, is expected to start on the bench, though his goal record from the closing stages of last season (three goals in Plymouth’s final four league matches) means he will be one of the first names on the head coach’s mind if a change is required.

Herbie Kane should anchor the midfield, while Alex Mitchell is expected to slot straight into central defence alongside Julio Pleguezuelo.

Stockport’s team news is shaped by three ongoing absences: Callum Connolly, Arttu Hoskonen and Tyler Onyango are all still working towards full fitness, while Brad Hills has been managing a knee issue. Kyle Wootton, the 19-goal top scorer from last season, remains the focal point of the visitors’ attack, with Ben Osborn and Oliver Norwood expected to anchor the midfield.

Plymouth Argyle predicted XI (4-4-2): Hazard; MacKenzie, Mitchell, Pleguezuelo, Harding; Sorinola, Kane, Boateng, Curtis; Evans, Pepple.

Stockport County predicted XI (4-3-3): Hinchliffe; Dacres-Cogley, Pye, O’Connell, Dodgson; Norwood, Osborn, Camps; Diamond, Wootton, Mothersille.

Star Player Watch: Owen Oseni vs Kyle Wootton

Owen Oseni, the Super Eagles striker, joined Plymouth Argyle from St Mirren in the summer of 2025 and delivered 10 goals and five assists in 33 League One appearances during his debut EFL campaign. The 23-year-old, born in Waterford, closed the season with three goals in the Pilgrims’ final four matches, form that earned him a first senior Nigeria call-up.

He made history in June 2026 by becoming the first Irish-born player to represent the three-time African champions, coming off the bench in the Super Eagles’ Unity Cup semi-final victory over Zimbabwe and again in the final against Jamaica.

Wootton is the archetype of a proven League One centre-forward. The 29-year-old finished the 2025-26 campaign as Stockport’s top scorer with 19 goals across all competitions, and with Ben Osborn once again feeding him from midfield, the Hatters’ attacking blueprint has changed very little under McNulty.

Oseni’s ceiling is far less settled but arguably far higher: a 1.88-metre left-footer with pace, direct running and the ability to press high, he is the sort of profile that changed the shape of Plymouth’s late-season run, and he will not be content to spend the campaign on the bench.

The Managers: Tom Cleverley vs Jim McNulty

Tom Cleverley, the former Manchester United and England midfielder, took over at Home Park after a difficult opening period at the club and has steadied Plymouth after a rocky spell earlier in his tenure. Oseni was one of his earliest signings as head coach, and the Nigerian’s development has become closely tied to the trajectory of the Cleverley project.

Jim McNulty faces one of the tougher openings in League One. He was appointed following Dave Challinor’s departure in the wake of the play-off final loss to Bolton Wanderers, ending a hugely successful tenure at Edgeley Park.

The former Bury and Rochdale defender’s challenge this summer has been to introduce his own ideas while preserving the identity Challinor built and doing so with a squad that has undergone significant reshaping.

Tactical Preview: How Plymouth Argyle and Stockport County Could Line Up

Cleverley has settled on a 4-4-2 shape in pre-season, with Kane and Boateng controlling the central areas and Sorinola and Curtis providing the width from wide midfield roles. Evans is expected to partner Pepple in a front two designed to offer aerial threat and hold-up play, while Oseni’s left-footed running in behind gives Cleverley a genuinely different option to introduce from the bench.

Plymouth’s obvious tactical avenue is to feed crosses into the box from wide areas, targeting Pepple’s ability to attack deliveries at the near post. If Stockport push higher in search of an equaliser late on, that is precisely the moment Oseni’s pace would come into its own.

McNulty is likely to persist with the 4-3-3 shape that carried Stockport into the play-offs last term, though he may tinker with pressing triggers to make the shape his own. Norwood’s passing range is the platform, with Osborn’s late runs from midfield offering a secondary goal threat behind Wootton and the pace of Diamond and Mothersille out wide.

The makeshift full-back positions, where Dodgson is still integrating on the left and Dacres-Cogley is likely to fill in on the right, are the areas where Plymouth can cause damage, particularly through Sorinola’s pace and Curtis’s direct running.

Plymouth Argyle vs Stockport County Betting Tips and Predictions

Both squads carry attacking talent and defensive question marks, and the combination of Plymouth’s home momentum and Stockport’s continued reliance on Wootton up top points towards a competitive scoreline rather than a clean-sheet result.

Plymouth Argyle vs Stockport County Score Prediction

Final Score Prediction Plymouth 2-1 Stockport County