Plymouth Argyle host Stockport County at Home Park on 15 August 2026, the opening fixture of the 2026 27 League One campaign. Plymouth finished eighth last season, Stockport ended their year more painfully, losing in the play off final before settling into a rebuild over the summer.
Tom Cleverley has been in the Plymouth job since June 2025, arriving on a three year deal after a playing career that took him through Manchester United and Watford. Jim McNulty is newer to his post, appointed at Stockport in June 2026 after leaving Rochdale following Dave Challinor's departure by mutual consent. The two haven't faced each other before in these roles.
Plymouth come into the game unbeaten from pre season, with a 0-0 draw against Bristol City and a 2-0 EFL Cup win over Exeter behind them. Stockport had a busier summer, beating Bristol City, Oldham and Preston in friendlies while keeping clean sheets throughout, though their EFL Cup run ended on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Doncaster Rovers.
Neither side is dealing with notable injuries or suspensions. Plymouth line up in a 4-2-3-1 with Cooper in goal behind Harding, Mitchell, Ross and Hartridge, White and Boateng hold midfield with Curtis, Evans and Amaechi ahead of them and Pepple leading the line. Evans is the notable arrival, replacing Lorent Tolaj who departed for Bristol City in a £4 million deal, while Mitchell and Harding are new defensive additions. Stockport will likely feature Whatmuff or Ashby-Hammond in goal, with Gordon, O'Connell, Pye and Glover in defence and Bate and Edun in midfield, Diamond, Norwood and Wood supporting Wootton up front. Ben Osborn is the headline permanent signing, bringing genuine League One experience to McNulty's squad alongside Luca Ashby-Hammond and Lewis Fiorini.
Cleverley's Plymouth play out from the back, with Harding and Hartridge pushing high enough that they regularly have numbers in the final third. Stockport sit in a mid block and look to spring quickly on the counter and three clean sheets in pre season suggest the defensive unit McNulty wants is already in place. Boateng and White go up against Osborn, Bate and Diamond in what looks like the defining midfield contest, while Pepple against O'Connell and Pye is another battle worth watching. If Amaechi and Curtis force Glover and Gordon to track them, Evans could operate against a back three rather than four, which opens up an entirely different kind of game for Plymouth.
The sides split their two meetings in 2025 26, with Plymouth winning 4-2 at Home Park in September before Stockport took a 2-1 win in January. Osborn and Norwood give Stockport genuine threat from set pieces, with Norwood's delivery from free kicks and Osborn's movement in the box the areas Plymouth will want to manage but open play is likely to be the more important battleground for both sides.
Plymouth 2-1 Stockport County. Plymouth won eight of their fourteen home league games at Home Park last season and that ground advantage matters when the opposition are set up to be compact. The structure Cleverley has built around Pepple, with Evans in behind and Curtis arriving late from midfield, gives Plymouth three distinct routes to goal that Stockport's back four will have to account for across ninety minutes. Osborn and Norwood's delivery from set pieces keeps this competitive enough that Plymouth shouldn't expect a straightforward night. Still, there's enough quality in the home side's open play to back them to take it.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
