Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs Swindon Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Plymouth Argyle welcome Swindon Town to Home Park on Tuesday evening for their third and final EFL Trophy group stage fixture.

In their previous competition outing, the Pilgrims prevailed on penalties after drawing against Newport County at Rodney Parade, while the Robins fell to a 2-0 defeat to the same opposition at the County Ground.

Match preview

Having been eliminated from the tournament at the quarterfinal stage in the 2025-26 campaign, falling to a late 2-1 loss against eventual winners Luton Town, Plymouth will be determined to go one better this season and finish the group stage on a high.

After starting their campaign in emphatic fashion by thumping Crystal Palace U21s 5-1, the Pilgrims could only manage a draw away to Newport, but having claimed victory in the resulting penalty shootout, Tuesday’s hosts picked up two points from their trip to Wales and as a result, confirmed their spot in the knockout stages.

Plymouth have impressed outside of the EFL Trophy too, as after 14 matches Tom Cleverley’s men sit fifth in League One, just three points off the automatic promotion places, while also booking their place in the FA Cup second-round on Saturday afternoon with a thumping 4-0 victory over Southern League Premier Central side Alvechurch at Home Park.

While they only need a draw to rise to the summit of Group 13 on Tuesday evening, the Pilgrims should by no means be underestimating League Two Swindon Town, with the Robins claiming victory in three of their previous four visits to South West Devon.

Following their expulsion from the competition in the 2025-26 campaign, having fielded two ineligible players in their round-of-16 tie with Luton at Kenilworth Road, Swindon will be left extremely disappointed with their efforts in the EFL Trophy this season too.

Despite taking the lead, Ian Holloway’s men began their campaign with a 2-1 home defeat against Crystal Palace U21s and, having also lost to Newport at the County Ground just a week later, the Robins can no longer progress to the knockout phase, meaning Tuesday’s match is purely a matter of pride for the visitors.

Unlike their opponents, Swindon are struggling for form elsewhere too, having won just two of their previous nine League Two fixtures to leave them languishing in mid-table, while their FA Cup campaign has already come to an end following a 2-1 first-round defeat to third tier side Milton Keynes Dons.

However, while they find themselves a division below Tuesday’s hosts, the Robins have a particularly good recent record when facing Plymouth, winning two of their previous three matches against the Pilgrims, including an impressive 3-1 win when the sides met at Home Park in October 2021.

Plymouth Argyle EFL Trophy form:

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

Swindon Town EFL Trophy form:

Swindon Town form (all competitions):

Team News

Plymouth will be without both Matthew Sorinola and Caleb Watts for Tuesday’s clash as the pair continue their recovery from knee and groin injuries respectively, while Julio Pleguezuelo is a doubt after suffering a calf problem in training last week.

Having been rested against Alvechurch as a precaution, Scottish defender Jack MacKenzie is likely to return to the fold for the Pilgrims this week and so too is Owen Oseni, who featured on the bench on Saturday following a month's absence with an ankle issue.

After missing the entirety of the start of the season, Cleverley also welcomed back Ghanaian midfielder Michael Baidoo in the FA Cup on the weekend and the 27-year-old capped his return with a goal.

Following only his second ever international call up, Swindon will be without Moldovan defender Stephan Negru on Tuesday evening, while Samuel Inwood is also unavailable across the backline with a serious hamstring injury.

Having undergone knee surgery in September, Ben Middlemas continues to be sidelined for the Robins, who will also be missing Ollie Clarke after the 34-year-old sustained a hamstring issue against Barnet a fortnight ago.

Both Paul Glatzel and Anthony Munda remain out for Holloway’s side too with knee problems and the visitor’s injury list is rounded off with Fletcher Holman, who is expected to be back in the new year from a severe hamstring tear.

On a more positive note for Swindon, 20-year-old midfielder Jaylan Pearman returned to the squad against MK Dons from an illness and will be looking to get some more minutes under his belt this week.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Storer; Edwards, Ross, MacKenzie, Rendle; Amaechi, Campbell, Roberts, Pepple; Oseni, Ibrahim

Swindon Town possible starting lineup:

Ward; Debayo, Ball, Kirkman; Griffiths-Brown, Nichols, Butterworth, Clark; Hoare, Hackford, Pearman

We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-0 Swindon Town

Boasting a positive recent record against Plymouth, Swindon will be determined to end their disappointing EFL Trophy campaign on a high this week, while maintaining their impressive streak against the Pilgrims.

However, despite expecting both sides to make changes to their line-ups on Tuesday, we are backing Cleverley’s men to claim all three points and secure top spot in Group 13.

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