Aiming to record back-to-backs wins for the first time during the 2024-25 campaign, Shrewsbury Town will welcome an in-form Exeter City to the Croud Meadow on Thursday night for a League One clash.
The Shrews secured victory during an enthralling eight-goal thriller versus a relegation rival on the weekend, whilst the Grecians have been afforded two weeks to recover from their most recent fixture.
Match preview
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After finishing in 19th position in the League One standings last season - just four points above the drop to League Two - Shrewsbury Town are once again on a mission to avoid relegation to the lowest level of EFL football, with their aims receiving a major boost on Saturday.
Following a seven-game winless streak across the third tier and the group stage of the EFL Trophy, the Shrews recorded a standout success at the home of newly-promoted Crawley Town on the weekend, when braces from forward duo John Marquis and George Lloyd helped the visitors to a 5-3 smashing of the Red Devils.
Winning only their second League One fixture of the 2024-25 schedule after 11 attempts, Shrewsbury moved up to 21st place in the third-tier standings ahead of Thursday night's clash, level on points with Midlands counterparts Northampton Town who lie in the relative safety of 20th.
Taking charge of the Shropshire-based outfit at the start of the calendar year, Paul Hurst did enough to steer the Shrews away from the drop at the conclusion of the 2023-24 term, but a win rate of 22% over 10 months needs to improve if the 50-year-old wishes to change the downwards trajectory of the club.
Shrewsbury will be striving for a vast improvement on their most recent competitive fixture at the Croud Meadow on October 8, when a brace from Scott Wright alongside strikes from Emil Hansson and Tomoki Iwata secured a comfortable 4-0 win for Birmingham City in the EFL Trophy.
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Since a narrow 2-1 defeat at the hands of Steve Bruce's rejuvenated Blackpool outfit on September 14, Thursday night's visitors Exeter have strung together a five-game unbeaten streak across League One and the EFL Trophy, scoring eight and conceding zero goals in the process.
The Grecians' match against high-flying Mansfield Town on October 12 was postponed due to international call-ups, meaning that the Devon-based club have been afforded a fortnight to dwell on their 1-0 victory over winless Cambridge United, with midfielder Ryan Woods netting the only goal of the contest at St James Park.
After successive campaigns of mid-table mediocrity following automatic promotion from League Two in 2022, Exeter are on a grind to seriously challenge for a playoff spot this time around, with Thursday's visitors currently sat in seventh, level on points with fourth-tier champions Stockport County in sixth.
With attacking talents such as Sam Nombe, Jevani Brown and Jay Stansfield departing St James Park over recent years, the Grecians have been forced to rely on a new wave of forward stars, with the likes of Sonny Cox and Josh Magennis shouldering plenty of the goalscoring burden.
Exeter will be looking for a repeat of their last trip to the Croud Meadow on a wet Tuesday night in March earlier this year, when a sixth-minute red card for Shrewsbury's Jordan Shipley shaped the complexion of the contest, one which the visitors went on to win by three first-half goals.
Team News
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Despite conceding three goals at Crawley on Saturday, Shrewsbury should stick with a centre-back trio of Josh Feeney, Aristote Nsiala and Morgan Feeney.
With Marquis and Lloyd both bagging doubles against the Red Devils, the likes of Tom Bloxham and Charles Sagoe Jr will have to settle for a place amongst the substitutes once again.
A stalwart for the Shrews during their survival campaign of 2023-24, Carl Winchester could face a period on the sidelines with Funso Ojo and Jordan Rossiter currently preferred by Hurst as the midfield pairing.
Making his first start of the season following recovery from a health issue, Jack Fitzwater was influential during Exeter's win over Cambridge and could start again on Thursday.
The Grecians are expecting to have fellow centre-back Tristan Crama back in contention after the Frenchman missed the Cambridge victory due to illness.
Aiming to keep a fifth straight clean sheet in League One, Crystal Palace loanee Joe Whitworth will start in between the sticks for the visitors at the Croud Meadow.
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Savin; M Feeney, Nsiala, J Feeney; Gilliead, Rossiter, Ojo, Benning, Castledine; Lloyd, Marquis
Exeter City possible starting lineup:
Whitworth; Sweeney, Crama, Yfeko; McMillian, Francis, Woods, Niskanen; Alli, Aitchison, Cox
We say: Shrewsbury Town 0-1 Exeter City
Shrewsbury were involved in a goal-laden contest at Crawley on the weekend, but we do not expect that to become a theme for the struggling Shrews.
Exeter have been defensively solid over recent weeks and will be confident of recording another clean sheet and three points in Shropshire on Thursday night.
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Carter White
