So, you’ve seen the numbers, what can we expect from Exeter? I’ve had a look and at present, they seem to favour a 3-5-2 formation. hat makes me wonder if Danny might keep 4-3-3, there’s no reason not to after recent results, but with three at the back against our three forwards, Exeter have an issue. Their wide players might have to track back and if they do, we nullify their threat somewhat. There’s a chance DC might risk it and go 4-4-2, after all Paul Tisdale will prepare for 4-3-3. Imagine, you’ve worked all week on getting the better of a three-man midfield and suddenly Danny Rowe and Harry are at you like wild dogs.
Danny Rowe has been unlucky, he’s one I got really excited about but he hasn’t had a decent run. We lost our way a little after Christmas, result of Sean going more than anything, but it has meant some of the new faces have looked poor when it isn’t the case. Danny has had some decent outings but suffers under the new formation, Tom Pett has been taken out of the limelight too, possibly to stop him being labelled as Tom Champion two. He’s one of ours now so he’s here for the long haul. I do think getting Harry on the pitch is crucial though, in some form or another.
We’ve got Tom Nield again tomorrow, he’s the ‘bright young thing’ who you’ll eventually see taking charge of cup finals and Premier League games. He was in charge against Luton at home where his only real mistake was to not send off their lad for hacking down Nathan Arnold. That challenge caused Arnold the injury from which he never truly bounced back. Nield also managed our Checkatrade game against Notts County and the trip to Barnet, two games where he received little stick. He’s a good referee and tomorrow, we need not worry about him too much. He’s only pulled out two red cards all season.
We tend to have the upper hand on the Grecians, winning 42% of our previous meetings. The most memorable, at least for this writer, was a Peter Gain-inspired 3-1 win in 2000. Our last win at home was courtesy of a Scott Willis goal in the early part of Keith’s second reign. Exeter were relegated that season, finishing on 48 points just one shy of Carlisle and Swansea. Whatever happened to them?
A Rob Burch own goal gave the Grecians their last win at Sincil Bank, before that you have to go back to the days of Gareth Ainsworth and Noel Blake, the latter scoring in the 73rd minute of our 1996 clash to put Exeter 3-0 up. Tony ‘Terry Fleming’ Dennis and Sir Gareth pulled a couple back that day, to no avail.
We don’t talk about the final game of the 1990 season. No point.
Anyway, my prediction tomorrow is a 1-0 win for City. I’m not usually one for such outlandish predictions, but I see Exeter being more tired than we are and our Sincil Bank pitch is tighter than their home turf. If we get at them with a high tempo and keep young Stockley quiet, then we just need to find a single goal to win the game.
I do however, like a ‘2.5 goals or over’ bet and for the last couple of weeks, I’ve been smashing it. Two wins out of two, £50 each time from a £10 bet has made me think I’m a bit of a tipster, so here are my three games to place your hard earned on tomorrow:
In the Championship I like the look of Norwich and Fulham. Fulham score, almost always and expect Aleksandar Mitrovic to do so, but they concede to as shown away at QPR last week. It’s got both teams to score written all over it.
I also like League Two because slightly less (how shall we say), robust defences mean more often than not, both teams score. Yeovil and FGR looks tasty and I’ll be taking that, both sides like to get forward but are bad in defence. Colchester and Luton would be another good shout, Luton don’t keep ridiculous amounts of clean sheets and with one in the bank from Saturday, I’d bet on them conceding this weekend. If you’re not so sure, other good bets are Fylde and Halifax, Boston and Kidderminster or possibly Rotherham and Peterborough.
Thanks for the tips!