Stat Attack: Notts County vs. Plymouth Argyle, Tuesday 16 August 2016

 Notts County and Plymouth Argyle have met a total of 44 times over the years, with the Magpies winning 23 times; the Pilgrims have triumphed 12 times, and nine draws have taken place.

The first meeting took place on 13 Jan 1923, a FA Cup clash in Plymouth which ended as a goalless draw.

Plymouth's premier team takes its nickname from an English religious group that left Plymouth for the New World in 1620. The club crest features the Mayflower, the ship that carried the pilgrims to Massachusetts.

The city of Plymouth is the largest in England never to have hosted top-flight football. They are also the most southerly and westerly League club in England.

The club was founded in 1886 as Argyle Football Club, the first match taking place on 16 October 1886 against Caxton, a team from Cornwall and saw the Pilgrims lose 2–0.

Poor performances on the pitch led to the club going out of existence in 1894 before being resurrected in 1897 as one part of a general sports club, the Argyle Athletic Club.

Much speculation surrounds the origin of the name Argyle. One explanation is that they were named after the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, an army regiment with a strong football side of its own.

Another theory is given the respective geographical placements–suggests the name comes either from the nearby public house, The Argyle Tavern, where the founder members may have met, or the local street named Argyle Terrace.

An alternative suggestion is that their initial kit was decorated in the famous Argyle diamond pattern.

The club adopted its current name when it became fully professional in 1903 joining the Southern League, under the management of Bob Jack.

Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles (one Division Two and two Division Three), five Southern League titles and one Western League title.

The team set the record for most championships won in the third tier, having finished first in the Third Division South twice, the Third Division once and the Second Division once.

In March 1973, Plymouth played a friendly against Brazilian giants Santos - who had a certain Pele in their ranks. However, the Devon club shocked the crowd of over 37,000 people at Home Park by cruising to a 3-0 lead and going on to win the game 3-2.

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Louis Laing could be back in the Notts team against Plymouth on Tuesday night after rejoining the Magpies on loan from Motherwell, having had a previous loan spell at Meadow Lane in 2014 while on the books at city rivals Nottingham Forest.

The defender might go straight into the team with boss John Sheridan likely to make some changes after describing his side's second-half showing against Stevenage on Saturday as a "shambles".

The likes of Alan Smith, Genaro Snijders, Elliott Hewitt, Adam Campbell and Graham Burke are also options for Sheridan.

Plymouth boss Derek Adams could once again ring the changes for the trip after his side slipped to a third straight defeat in all competitions at Carlisle United on Saturday.

Adams made 14 signings during a summer of change at Home Park and defender Nauris Bulvitis became their 11th debutant of the season against the Cumbrians after international clearance came through on Friday.

Connor Smith replaced David Ijaha for the start of the second half at Brunton Park and could well have played himself into the starting line-up after an impressive showing.

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