Preview: Exeter City vs Stockport County - prediction, team news, lineups

Exeter City will be looking to pick up an important victory when they welcome Stockport County to St James Park on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts currently sit 21st in the League One table and are three points from safety, while the visitors are fifth and looking to seal a playoff place.

Match preview

Exeter picked up their first win since January last week when they beat Doncaster Rovers 3-0 and they followed it up with a 2-2 draw against promotion contenders Plymouth Argyle last Saturday.

The Grecians twice took the lead in the Devon derby through Reece Cole and Jayden Wareham, but goals from Lorent Tolaj and Malachi Boateng rescued a draw for Plymouth.

Exeter's interim manager Matt Taylor believes his side can stay up if they continue to perform like they did against Plymouth, insisting they are "going in the right direction".

However, Exeter have not beaten Stockport since 2009 and have lost their last four meetings, including a 1-0 defeat back in October.

© Imago / Focus Images

Stockport, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last six league games and head into Saturday's match off the back of a 2-0 victory over Wimbledon on Wednesday.

Josh Stokes and Tayo Edun were on target for the Hatters as they immediately returned to winning ways after losing 3-1 to Luton Town in the EFL Trophy final just days earlier.

Manager Dave Challinor praised his side's "professional job" against Wimbledon, particularly as they are struggling with an injury crisis that forced striker Kyle Wootton to start at centre-back.

It is also worth noting that Stockport have one of the best away records in the division, with only Lincoln City, Cardiff City and Plymouth picking up more points on the road than them.

Exeter City League One form:

L L D L W D

Stockport County League One form: 

W D W W D W

Stockport County form (all competitions):

D W W D L W

Team News

© Imago

Exeter are not expected to make changes after their impressive display against Plymouth, with Wareham set to continue leading the line.

Ilmari Niskanen and Carlos Mendes Gomes will once again start out wide, with Cole featuring in the No.10 role.

Stockport, meanwhile, are missing defenders Joseph Olowu, Brad Hills, Josh Dacres-Cogley, Callum Connolly and Arttu Hoskonen through injury.

Wootton may continue to deputise at the back as a result, while Stokes could come into the starting lineup for Che Gardner after scoring against Wimbledon.

Exeter City possible starting lineup:

Bycroft; McMillan, James, Sweeney, Andrew; Cummins, McDonald; Niskanen, Cole, Gomes; Wareham

Stockport County possible starting lineup:

Addai; Dixon, Wootton, Pye, Edun; Bailey, Norwood; Stokes, Mothersille; Sidibeh, Olaofe

We say: Exeter City 0-1 Stockport County

Although Exeter have found some form in recent weeks, Stockport are the favourites for a reason and boast a strong away record this season.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.