Stevenage will be looking to record their third victory in a row in all competitions when they continue their League Two campaign at home to Exeter City on Saturday afternoon.
The Boro are currently 17th in the table, having picked up 12 points from their opening 10 fixtures, while Exeter sit sixth in the division, with 15 points to show from their first 10 matches of 2021-22.
Match preview
Stevenage, who finished 14th in League Two last season, won their first two league fixtures of the campaign against Barrow and Bristol Rovers but then went on a run of seven matches without a victory.
Alex Revell's side have triumphed in their last two games, though, running out 2-0 winners over Hartlepool United in the league last weekend before beating Oxford City 2-1 in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.
Goals from Jamie Reid and Elliott List saw Stevenage overcome Hartlepool in their last league encounter, and the result moved the team into 17th spot in the table, with 12 points to show from their first 10 matches.
It is difficult to imagine the club pushing towards the playoff this season, but they are only three points off the top six at this stage and should enter Saturday's contest in good confidence.
Stevenage's overall record against Exeter is concerning, though, with the Boro winning just two of their previous 18 meetings in all competitions, and they are on a run of five straight defeats against Saturday's opponents.
© Reuters
Exeter, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a penalty-shootout victory over Cheltenham Town in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, with the Grecians triumphing after a 2-2 draw.
Matt Taylor's side, who finished ninth in League Two last season, have made a positive start to the 2021-22 campaign, picking up 15 points from 10 matches to occupy sixth position.
No team in League Two has lost fewer matches than Exeter (one) this season, but they have been the draw specialists, sharing the points in six of their 10 encounters thus far.
Taylor's team are actually unbeaten in their last eight league matches but have been held to draws by Hartlepool and Walsall in their last two encounters on September 25 and October 9 respectively.
As mentioned above, Exeter's record over Stevenage is incredibly strong, and the Grecians won both league matches between the teams last season, including a 1-0 success in this fixture back in February.
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- W
- D
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- W
Team News
Stevenage boss Revell could decide to name the same XI that started the win over Hartlepool in the league last weekend, with goalscorers Reid and List continuing as the front two.
Revell selected a strong side against Oxford in the EFL Trophy, but there will still be alterations here, with Jake Taylor and Scott Cuthbert expected to come back in.
Bruno Andrade will again feature in a wide area for the home side, while Ben Coker should return to the team at left-back.
As for Exeter, head coach Taylor will make alterations to the side that took to the field against Cheltenham in the EFL Trophy last time out.
Harry Kite, Matt Jay and Jevani Brown should all return to the starting XI, and it is likely to be a 3-4-3 formation for the visitors.
Jay missed a penalty against Walsall last weekend but is expected to feature alongside Jevani Brown and Sam Nombe as part of a front three.
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
Anang; James-Wildin, Vancooten, Cuthbert, Coker; Osborne, Taylor, Reeves, Andrade; Reid, List
Exeter City possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Coley, Ray, Hartridge; Key, Kite, Dieng, Caprice; Brown, Jay, Nombe
We say: Stevenage 1-1 Exeter City
Exeter have been the draw specialists in League Two this season, and we are expecting them to share the spoils once again this weekend. Stevenage have been impressive in their last two matches and should be good enough for a point on Saturday afternoon.
Top tip
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 Exeter City win with a probability of 50.96%. A draw had a probability of 25.2% and a win for Stevenage had a probability of 23.86%.
The most likely scoreline for a Exeter City win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.98%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.49%) and 1-2 (9.47%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.96%), while for a Stevenage win it was 1-0 (7.56%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.7% likelihood.
