Cobblers are well-placed in fourth, a point behind Carlisle with a game in hand, and their remaining fixtures are favourable. As manager Jon Brady warned following Saturday’s draw with Walsall though, nothing can be taken for granted.
"We have no divine right to beat anyone in this league,” he said. “This league is just so tough and from top to bottom it's quite even. We have seen the bottom two or three really strengthen in January so the league is levelling out in my opinion and that (Saturday) was just another point on the board and we keep rolling on and look ahead to another tough game at Rochdale."
Based on the average points-per-game of all remaining opponents (IE the higher the number, the tougher the fixtures), here are how the run-ins compare for the top 15 in League Two….
1. Carlisle United
Average points per game of remaining opponents: 1.56. Carlisle have statistically the toughest remaining fixtures in the whole of League Two. They still have to play nearly all of their promotion rivals at least once. Photo: Stu Forster
2. Doncaster Rovers
1.46. Doncaster, who are currently on the fringes of the play-off battle in 11th, also have some tough fixtures coming up. Photo: George Wood
3. Salford City
1.44. Salford are just behind Northampton and Carlisle after a good run of form and they also have plenty of rivals still to play. Photo: Jan Kruger
