League One's Exeter City are set to face National League side Barnet in the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon at St James Park.
This will mark the hosts' first appearance in the competition this season, while the visitors secured their spot in this round with a commanding 4-0 victory over Chelmsford City in the fourth qualifying round.
Match preview
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Exeter City earned promotion to League One for the first time since 2011-12 when they placed second in League Two in 2021-22, finishing behind champions Forest Green Rovers only on goal difference as they drew level on 84 points.
The Grecians began the 2022-23 season under the management of Matt Taylor, who had been at the helm since June 2018, however, he departed early into the campaign after receiving an offer from Championship side Rotherham United in October.
Gary Caldwell was appointed as the new permanent manager and he has excelled in solidifying Exeter City's position as a consistent League One team, leading them to finish 14th in 2022-23 and 13th in 2023-24.
Exeter have made another strong start to the 2024-25 season, with the Grecians sitting 11th in the table after 12 outings with 19 points, from six wins, one draw and five defeats.
They will now be aiming to carry that form into England's most prestigious cup competition, and they will fancy their chances against a Barnet side that competes two divisions below them.
Barnet have been in the National League since their relegation from the fourth tier in the 2017-18 season, although they were spared from dropping further when the 2020-21 season was curtailed due to Covid-19, as they sat at the bottom of the league at the time.
They moved up to 18th in the following season before flying up the table in 2022-23 and 2023-24, finishing fifth and second respectively, though they were eliminated in the playoff quarterfinals and semifinals.
Dean Brennan, who has been in charge of the club since September 2021, has made another impressive start to this term, with Barnet sitting third in the table with 33 points from 16 fixtures, with 11 wins and five defeats.
They comfortably qualified for this stage of the competition with a confident 4-0 victory against Chelmsford City in the fourth qualifying round, and they will be looking to cause an upset in the first round against Exeter on Saturday.
Barnet will draw confidence from their achievements in reaching the second round of the competition in each of the last two seasons, but they enter into this match as significant underdogs.
Team News
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Exeter made a number of changes for their 3-2 victory against Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, and Caldwell is expected to field a stronger team here.
Demetri Mitchell and Millenic Alli both came off the bench to score in that game, and they could find themselves coming into the starting 11 for this one.
As for Barnet, they ended a two-game losing streak as they beat Rochdale 2-1 in their last outing, and they could field a similar starting side here.
Callum Stead and Nicke Kabamba have scored 15 league goals between them this season, and both are anticipated to start against Exeter.
Exeter City possible starting lineup:
Whitworth; McMillan, Sweeney, Crama, Purrington, Mitchell; Aitchison, Woods, Doyle; Alli, Magennis
Barnet possible starting lineup:
Hayes; Cropper, Rye, Oluwo, Kenlock, Coker; Shelton, Hartigan, Glover; Hobson, Kabamba
We say: Exeter City 3-1 Barnet
Exeter competes two divisions higher than their visitors, and while Barnet are likely to give the hosts a difficult test, we expect the hosts to eventually secure the win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
