“Exeter are another team on an alarming run of form that has now found themselves very much in a battle against relegation. Gary Caldwell’s side have recorded only 2 victories over their last 12 in all competitions, and one of those was in the FA Cup. Their biggest issue at present is the sheer amount of goals they’re currently conceding. Across their previous 5 league encounters, The Grecians are shipping an average of 3.20 goals per match. They’re also not exactly scoring too many in reply, either!

City’s home form is also massively on the decline. They are winless in league action here since Boxing Day and are without a league clean sheet at St James Park since November 16th, 2024. Quite simply, it is too hard to have any faith in them producing a shutout any time soon.

Northampton make the near 4-hour journey for this weekend’s clash on 1 hand disappointed but also encouraged at the same time. The Cobblers will be disappointed to have lost 2-1 to play-off-chasing Barnsley at home last time out, however, encouragement comes from the fact they’ve won 3 of their last 5 League One fixtures.

Since Kevin Nolan became Northampton manager in December, the team have scored in 8 of those 12 matches. As well as this, it is just 1 defeat over their last 5 played away from home, only failing to score away to 2nd in the table Wycombe in a 0-0 draw during this time. Furthermore, Exeter are bottom of the 15-game form guide in League One and they’re the only team in the division to concede 30+ goals over this period.”

“Burton Albion increased their winning run to 2 games after netting a last-gasp winner away to Lincoln last weekend. The manner of their celebrations after that match indicates a real togetherness at the club and they clearly hold real belief in being able to avoid relegation.

There is very much a team feeling about them and Gary Bowyer has knit them together nicely since taking charge. Although still inside the relegation zone, the Brewers have lost just 2 of their last 12. A win here could take them as high as 18th, so motivation is also very high.

Mansfield make the trip to Staffordshire with forever-increasing fears of being dragged into the relegation scrap. Their huge dip in form, along with improved outcomes for the likes of Burton, means only 6 points separates them from the bottom-four. Nigel Clough’s side are winless in 10 in all competitions, of which ended in defeat. It is simply too hard to have much faith in them at present.

A plethora of injuries, especially defensively, certainly are not helping their cause, which further strengthens the case for the home side in Saturday’s clash. The ten-match form guide in League One has Mansfield rock bottom of the standings and Burton would in fact occupy a play-off place. Form alone points all arrows to Bowyer’s men here, plus there should be little appetite to expect Town to improve their showings at the moment.”

“It’s all gone horribly wrong for MK Dons. They were supposed to get promoted this season. After disappointing at the start of the season under Mike Williamson they turned to the mastermind of Crawley’s 2023/24 promotion Scott Lindsey to get their season back on track, but performance levels have further and the slide down the League Two table continues. MK Dons are now the same amount of points away from the relegation zone as they are from the playoff places.

MK’s form is horrid. They lay bottom of the 5-game form table with just 1 point (earned in a 1-1 draw with 22nd placed Tranmere) from their last possible 15. In their last match, they were routinely beaten 2-0 by Bradford who won the xG battle 1.44 – 0.40 and who outshot MK by 16 shots to 5. Other recent defeats, to Doncaster, Bromley and Barrow have all come with an xG beating too.

MK are underperforming their expected points by 2. But the underperformance of the numbers was much greater than that not too long ago – results haven’t fell in line with performances, and performance level has fell in line with results.

Colchester are at the other end of the form spectrum. The U’s are unbeaten in their last 8 matches – a run of games that includes matches against table-topping Walsall and promotion contenders Notts County and AFC Wimbledon.

Colchester’s game are notoriously low-scoring. In 32 matches played they’ve scored 37 goals and conceded 32. Only Gillingham matches have seen fewer goals this season. The low-margin nature of their games has seen Colchester pick up plenty of draws – 16 in total, 50% of all their league matches, and 3 more than anyone else in the league.

The draws are especially common in away matches. Colchester have lost just 3 away games all season but 10 draws mean they are only in 10th place in the away league table.

Colchester can extend their unbeaten run here against a vulnerable Milton Keynes Dons but they can’t be trusted to claim 3 points so double chance is the play.”

“Arbroath will look to tighten their grip on top spot in Scottish League One when they play host to Annan Athletic on Saturday afternoon. The Red Lichties seized the initiative in the title race by moving to the summit after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Kelty Hearts on Tuesday night. That means Arbroath have now won 3 of their last 4 league games, and they are fancied to put another 3 points on the board this weekend.

Co-managers Colin Hamilton and David Gold seem to have recruited well in both the January and latterly in the February loan window, with a pair of resounding 3-0 wins over both Inverness and Queen of the South earlier this month catching the eye.

In contrast, 8th-placed Annan have won just 3 of their last 15 league games and are nervously glancing over their shoulder at the bottom 2. Wullie Gibson’s side will come into this clash off the back of 2 successive defeats in the league, conceding a combined total of 7 goals across those 2 matches. Having already lost 2-0 and 4-0 when going up against Arbroath earlier in the season, everything points towards a home success on Saturday.”