Exetervs.Stevenage

Meanwhile, the Grecians will be looking for a positive response after falling to a narrow defeat in their most recent outing against Blackpool.

Match preview

Exeter have experienced a mixed start to the season, having won two and lost three of their opening five League One matches.

After beating Rotherham United on matchday one, Exeter went on to lose consecutive league games before bouncing back with a 2-0 away win over Bolton Wanderers.

The Grecians were unable to build upon that result in their recent away meeting with Blackpool despite looking set to salvage a point through Ed Francis's 88th-minute equaliser.

However, there was to be one final twist as James Husband netted a stoppage-time winner to condemn Exeter to a 2-1 defeat, leaving them in 16th place after the opening five matches.

The Grecians will now turn their focus to Saturday's fixture, and they will be confident of claiming maximum points after winning each of their last six home league games against Stevenage.

Meanwhile, ninth-placed Stevenage are one point better off than Exeter after winning two, drawing one and losing two of their five league matches.

They kicked off their League One campaign with a 1-0 win over Shrewsbury Town, before they lost to Huddersfield Town and Lincoln City on either side of a draw with Burton Albion.

After going three league games without a win, Alex Revell's side produced an emphatic response to claim a commanding 3-0 home victory against Barnsley thanks to an Elliott List brace and a Carl Piergianni effort.

Stevenage have now won two of their three home league matches this season, and they will be keen to carry that form onto their travels, having failed to win any of their previous 10 away league games since beating Wigan in January.

Their hopes of clinching all three points may be tempered by the fact they have failed to win any of their last 12 competitive matches against Exeter.

Exeter City League One form:

L

W

L

L

W

L

Exeter City form (all competitions):

L

L

L

W

W

L

Stevenage League One form:

W

W

L

D

L

W

Stevenage form (all competitions):

L

L

W

D

L

W

Team News

Exeter's deadline-day signing Pat Jones will have to wait until the new year to make his debut after being ruled out for three to four months with a hamstring injury.

Yann Wildschut has been ruled out for the season with a serious knee injury, while Demetri Mitchell is unlikely to be involved despite being in the final stages of his long road back to fitness.

As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon defender Dan Sweeney, who sustained a knee injury against Lincoln last month.

Jamie Reid returned from injury to make his first appearance of the season last weekend, and the forward is expected to retain his place for Saturday's away trip.

Reid is likely to be joined in the front two by List after he came off the bench to score a brace in the 3-0 win over Barnsley.

Exeter City possible starting lineup:

MacDonald; Sweeney, Crama, Yteko; Niskanen, Doyle, Woods, McMillan; Aitchison; Magennis, Alli

Stevenage possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Wildin, Goode, Piergianni, Freestone; Freestone, King, White; Roberts; Reid, List

We say: Exeter City 2-0 Stevenage

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