Preview: Exeter City vs. Fleetwood Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Both sides will be aiming to bounce back from defeat when Exeter City host Fleetwood Town in League One on Saturday.

Exeter were beaten 1-0 away to Lincoln City last time out, while Fleetwood lost 2-1 at home to Barnsley.

Match preview

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Having won four of their previous five matches to move away from the relegation zone, Exeter have been brought back down to Earth by successive defeats to Derby County and Lincoln.

Despite dominating possession in both games, Gary Caldwell's side have failed to score in both of those losses, with promotion contenders Derby proving far too clinical for them at St James Park.

However, their last match against Lincoln could have gone either way, with the first goal always likely to prove critical given both sides' struggles in front of goal this season. Indeed, only Shrewsbury Town have scored fewer goals than Exeter in League One this season.

As such, Caldwell will be hoping that his players can rediscover their shooting boots against Fleetwood on Saturday, especially as a victory would give them an almost unassailable lead ahead of their relegation-threatened opponents in the table.

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Indeed, Fleetwood appear in serious jeopardy of falling back to League Two for the first time since gaining promotion from the fourth tier in 2014.

The Fishermen appeared to be gaining some momentum after securing back-to-back wins against Port Vale and Bristol Rovers earlier this month, but just one point from their last three games means that they are more than six points from safety with only 13 games of their campaign remaining.

Charlie Adam's side were perhaps unfortunate to fall to defeat against promotion contenders Barnsley last time out, having equalised in the first half via Bosun Lawal's strike. However, Herbie Kane's effort just before the hour mark separated the two sides in the end, despite a spirited performance from the hosts at Highbury Stadium.

If Fleetwood are to stand any realistic chance of survival, they simply must collect some points from successive away trips to Exeter and Port Vale across the next week, otherwise the gap between themselves and safety will surely prove too large to be able to overcome.

Team News

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Exeter will remain without Demetri Mitchell due to an ACL injury, which is likely to keep the 27-year-old sidelined for the remainder of the season.

Ryan Woods was an unused substitute against Lincoln but could be called upon from the start to provide more quality in midfield, while Mo Eisa is also pushing for a starting berth after coming off the bench in that defeat.

Fleetwood, meanwhile, could recall Jayden Stockley to their starting XI after surprisingly only using him from the bench against Barnsley. The 30-year-old is a proven goalscorer at this level.

Shaun Rooney may also be in contention for a starting position after joining Stockley in coming off the bench in that defeat, but otherwise Adam is likely to stick to his guns after a decent performance.

Exeter City possible starting lineup: Sinisalo; Sweeney, Diabate, Jules; Rankine, Carroll, Woods, Purrington; Eisa, Wildschut; Cox

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup: Lynch; Sarpong-Wiredu, Heneghan, Campbell; Broom, Lawal, Kilkenny, Johnston; Omochere, Stockley, Coughlan

We say: Exeter City 2-1 Fleetwood Town

Exeter should have enough points on the board to avoid serious danger, and they will be viewing this game as a perfect opportunity to return to winning ways and cement their status in League One.

Fleetwood, on the other hand, need every point that they can grab in their current predicament. We expect to see a closely-fought game which could go either way, but we will go with the home side to narrowly edge it.

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