With both sides seeking to bounce back from respective defeats last time out, Yeovil Town and Torquay United do battle at Huish Park on Sunday.
The hosts will also have revenge on the agenda off the back of a comprehensive 3-0 defeat in the most recent meeting between the sides on Boxing Day.
Match preview
© Reuters
Yeovil were beaten for the first time in 12 matches across all competitions following a 3-0 loss against Torquay United at the Plainmoor on Sunday.
The contest was level heading into the midway point of the second half after which goals from Ben Wynter, Jack Sparkes and Joe Lewis put Darren Sarll's men to the sword.
That defeat saw the Glovers miss out on an opportunity to close the gap on the playoff hopefuls, and they currently remain in 11th place having amassed 31 points from 19 games.
An opportunity to get back on track awaits this weekend against an opposing side with little to pick from between the teams as the last 10 meetings have yielded five wins apiece.
Sunday's hosts, who have come out on top in five of their last six home matches, now seek to begin the new year on a high following a horrendous display in their last outing of 2021.
Presented with a chance to move into the top half of the standings, Torquay fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat versus Eastleigh at the Silverlake Stadium on Tuesday.
Gary Johnson's men took the lead in the 32nd minute through Armani Little, before second-half strikes from Tom Whelan and Tyrone Barnett turned the tie on its head.
The Gulls are four places and as many points adrift of Yeovil Town in the National League table despite having played 21 times compared to the latter's 19.
With only one triumph from their last 11 away games, Sunday's visitors have it all to do against an opposition as ruthless on home turf as this weekend's opponents.
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
Team News
Sonny Lo-Everton was sent off 20 minutes into the second half of his side's last outing and will serve the first of a two-game ban this weekend.
This could mean a recall to the starting lineup for 22-year-old Jordan Barnett, who has had to make do with 14 minutes of action in the last three matches.
First choice goalkeeper Gary Smith is also ineligible to feature due to suspension, paving the way for Max Evans to make his first appearance of the season.
Torquay's Armani Little has now hit 10 league goals for the first time in his career following his opener against Eastleigh, and he will be looking to deliver the goods once again.
English midfielder Tom Lapslie was subbed off at half time in the aforementioned game, making him a major doubt for Sunday's contest as a result.
Yeovil Town possible starting lineup:
Evans; Williams, Worthington, Yussuf, Staunton; Barnett, Moss, Wakefield, Wilkinson; Hunt, Gorman
Torquay United possible starting lineup:
MacDonald; Moxey, Sparkes, Wright, Winter; Lewis, Little, Lolos; Lemonheigh-Evans; Wright, Lapslie
We say: Yeovil Town 2-1 Torquay United
Yeovil's impressive record on their own patch lately means that it is hard to envisage any other outcome than a home win. We are backing them to get the job done, albeit by only a narrow margin.
Top tip
Adepoju Marvellous
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 Yeovil Town win with a probability of 43.87%. A win for Torquay United had a probability of 29.42% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Yeovil Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.84%) and 2-0 (8.1%). The likeliest Torquay United win was 0-1 (9.08%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.66%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 6.9% likelihood.
