Cheltenhamvs.Exeter

The home side are 22nd in League One, but just two points from safety, whilst the visitors are 15th, but a good run of recent form has all but confirmed their survival.

Match preview

Cheltenham may find themselves in the drop zone ahead of this one, but they are still in a good position to save their position in League One as they hold the advantage of two games in hand on some of those around them.

Darrell Clarke's men managed to grab their first victory in seven last Friday in a huge relegation six-pointer with 23rd-placed Fleetwood Town, winning the game 2-1 thanks to a first-half goal from Liam Sercombe and an Aidan Keena winner in the 82nd minute, just three minutes after Fleetwood equalised.

Those three points helped keep Cheltenham firmly in the battle to avoid relegation, keeping the gap on Port Vale, who also won their previous match, to just one point and making up ground on Burton Albion, who drew in their last outing.

The hosts now face an Exeter side who they have beaten in both the previous two league matches they have played at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium, claiming 3-1 and 5-3 victories, however, those results sandwich a penalty loss in the EFL Trophy and a 7-0 demolition in the EFL Cup in August 2022.

As for the visitors, they have been able to turn around their own poor run of form that saw them go five matches without a win across late February and early March, by winning two and drawing one in their previous three games.

Those results have helped Gary Caldwell's men create a sizeable nine-point cushion on the bottom four, leaving them all but confirmed to ply their trade in League One for a third consecutive campaign.

The Grecians may be slightly disappointed with the way their season has ended up playing out, having made a positive start with five victories from their first eight league matches.

Caldwell's side rapidly descended the league rankings following that start though, embarking on a run of 13 games without victory in league matches between late September and late December.

Exeter's main problem has been their inefficiency in front of goal, scoring just 34 goals in their 40 league outings up until this point, the joint-third worst goalscoring record across the entire league.

They will be confident heading into this match though, as their away form has been one of their biggest strengths throughout this campaign as they are the 12th-best side when playing on the road, picking up 22 of their 48 points in those encounters.

Cheltenham Town League One form:

L

D

L

L

D

W

Exeter City League One form:

D

L

D

W

W

D

Team News

Cheltenham will be missing multiple key players due to injury for this match, leaving Clarke with plenty to think about regarding his team selection.

Matty Taylor remains out having already sat out of Cheltenham's last three outings since succumbing to injury against Charlton Athletic.

George Lloyd and Tom Bradbury are doubts after they were both forced off with injuries in the second half of their 2-1 victory over Fleetwood last time out, while Rob Street is also out for the rest of the season.

As for Exeter, they were strengthened for their eventual 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic last Friday as five players were welcomed back from international duty.

On-loan striker Admiral Muskwe has failed to appear for Exeter since a 3-0 loss to Fleetwood in November and is expected to remain sidelined for this game.

Demetri Mitchell is another of the visitors long-term injuries, having been on the treatment table since suffering an injury in a 3-2 loss to Middlesbrough in October.

Zak Jules will also be unavailable as he serves the second match of his suspension after he was dismissed in the first half against Burton Albion.

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Davies, Smith, Freestone; Pett; Long, Sercombe, Kinsella, Ferry; Nuttall, Keena

Exeter City possible starting lineup:

Sinisalo; Sweeney, Aimson, Purrington; Niskanen, Carroll, Woods, Wildschut; Aitchison, Harris; Cox

We say: Cheltenham Town 0-1 Exeter City

Both sides have struggled for goals this season, scoring just 32 and 34 respectively, and we expect these problems to continue with a low-scoring affair in this one.

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