Promotion-chasing Exeter City make the trip to Oldham Athletic on Tuesday evening looking to end a two-match losing streak in League Two.
Meanwhile, Oldham head into this contest having recorded four draws in five fixtures, results which have kept the Latics away from the relegation zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sitting 12 points adrift of leaders Cheltenham Town with two matches in hand, Exeter boss Matt Taylor will still feel that his side are in contention for automatic promotion.
However, at a time when they sit outside of the playoff places, Taylor's focus will be on ensuring that they return to the top seven as soon as possible.
Narrow defeats to Cheltenham and Tranmere Rovers have been harsh on Exeter, the former coming courtesy of a last-minute goal and the defeat in the North-West a result of conceding two penalties.
Nevertheless, Taylor will argue that those setbacks would not have occurred had his side performed better in the final third, their recent blip being unexpected given that they still possess the best attacking record in the division.
© Reuters
In sharp contrast, Oldham hold the worst defensive return in the fourth tier, conceding 52 goals from their 36 fixtures this season.
Two goalless draws have been recorded in the four games since Keith Curle's appointment, a sign that the seasoned EFL boss is getting a reaction out of the club's backline.
Remaining 11 points above the bottom two with 10 games left, Curle will feel that Oldham are on the brink of confirming their status as a League Two club for another 12 months.
However, complacency cannot become an issue for a team who have lost their way in the final third with just six goals coming in eight outings.
- L
- D
- D
- L
- D
- D
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Curle used just two of his allotted substitutions at the weekend, a sign that he is prioritising a settled side over trying to keep his players as fresh as possible.
While Dylan Bahamboula will be considered for a recall in place of Marcel Hilbner, that could prove to be the only change to the starting lineup.
Joel Randall will miss out for Exeter, a consequence of being stretchered off after scoring at Prenton Park.
Jack Sparkles is in line to start on the left-hand side of midfield, while Jake Caprice is in contention for a return on the opposite flank in place of Joshua Key or Robbie Willmott.
Ryan Bowman should keep his spot in attack despite failing to net on his last four outings.
Oldham Athletic possible starting lineup:
Walker; Clarke, Piergianni, Jameson; Fage, Whelan, McCalmont, Adams; Bahamboula, McAleny; Keillor-Dunn
Exeter City possible starting lineup:
Andresson; Key, McArdle, Hartridge, Page; Caprice, Taylor, Collins, Sparkles; Jay; Bowman
We say: Oldham Athletic 1-3 Exeter City
While Exeter can ill-afford another defeat, there is a feeling that they must attack this game in order to make use of their games in hand. With that in mind, we are backing the visitors to come out on top in convincing fashion.
Top tip
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Exeter City win with a probability of 56.52%. A draw had a probability of 22.7% and a win for Oldham Athletic had a probability of 20.82%.
The most likely scoreline for a Exeter City win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.41%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.89%) and 0-2 (9.62%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.71%), while for a Oldham Athletic win it was 1-0 (5.8%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 5.5% likelihood.
