Exetervs.Shrewsbury

The Grecians will be looking for their first win in four, while the Shrews will be desperate to avoid a fifth defeat in six games that could leave them further adrift at the foot of the table.

Match preview

Gary Caldwell's Exeter may have avoided defeat in their two most recent matches, but they have only won once in the third tier in 2025.

Last time out, the Grecians earned a commendable point in a 0-0 draw with promotion-chasing Reading, and now find themselves 19th in the table with 37 points to their name.

Ahead of this weekend, Caldwell will be concerned that his side are just four points above Burton Albion in the relegation zone, and the boss will know that defeat could drag the club into danger.

Exacerbating these concerns will be the fact that the hosts have only avoided defeat once in the league at St James Park in 2025, though they could draw some small amount of confidence from scoring in all of their home games going back to mid-November.

Three points on Saturday could see Exeter go level on points with 16th-placed Mansfield Town and potentially leapfrog both Peterborough United and Northampton Town in the process, though they will primarily be focused on staying ahead of Bristol Rovers and Burton at all costs.

Meanwhile, Gareth Ainsworth's Shrewsbury started February with back-to-back wins over Mansfield and Rotherham United, but have since bookended a run of four consecutive losses with two draws.

Most recently, the Shrews played out a 0-0 stalemate with the Gas, and the point they earned from that clash has left them bottom of the pile in League One, with just 28 points from their 35 games ahead of this weekend.

To make matters worse, Ainsworth's side have only scored one goal in their last four fixtures, a worrying trend that they will have to correct if they are to have any chance of making up the eight-point gap to safety by the end of the campaign.

It is also important to note that the visitors have taken maximum points away from New Meadow on just one occasion since October, though that match was in February and fans may have hope that they can take something home on Saturday.

Shrewsbury lost 2-0 in the reverse fixture five months ago, and a repeat of that result this time around might be disastrous for Town, who could fall 11 points from safety by the next matchday.

Exeter City League One form:

L

L

W

L

D

D

Exeter City form (all competitions):

L

L

W

L

D

D

Shrewsbury Town League One form:

D

L

L

L

L

D

Team News

Exeter may be without midfielder Edward Francis this weekend after he was withdrawn with an injury against Reading last time out.

If he is unavailable, expect Reece Cole to line up alongside Ryan Trevitt in the centre of the park, flanked by wing-backs Caleb Watts and Ben Purrington.

Up front, Caldwell will be relying on strikers Josh Magennis and Demetri Mitchell to keep the Grecians away from the relegation zone by seizing all three points on Saturday.

As for Shrewsbury, they will still be missing striker John Marquis, who picked up the joint-quickest red card in English professional football history when he was sent off for violent conduct after just 13 seconds against Peterborough.

In his absence, David Wheeler and George Lloyd will start as a strike partnership ahead of attacking midfielder Taylor Perry.

Exeter City possible starting lineup:

Whitworth; Turns, MacDonald, Hartridge; Watts, Trevitt, Cole, Purrington; Aitchison; Magennis, Mitchell

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:

Blackman; M Feeney, J Feeney, Nurse; Hoole, Gape, Ojo, Benning; Perry; Wheeler, Lloyd

We say: Exeter City 1-0 Shrewsbury Town

Neither side are in the strongest form at the moment, and both are at risk should they lose this match, so expect a close contest.

Written by

Anthony Nolan

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