Relegation-threatened Weymouth will make the trip to Eastleigh on Sunday, and they will be hoping to start the new year on a positive note after losing their last five league games.

The hosts head into the weekend's contest in 13th place, and they will be aiming for their third consecutive victory in all competitions.

Match preview

Eastleigh boss Ben Strevens pictured in December 2019 © Reuters

Eastleigh sit eight points adrift of the playoff place, but with still over half the season left to play, the Spitfires could still make a run for the top seven.

They will head into Sunday's contest full of confidence after coming from a goal behind to beat Torquay in midweek.

In that encounter, Armani Little gave the Gulls the lead, but Tom Whelan dispatched his spot kick to restore parity before Tyrone Barnett netted the winner for Eastleigh in the 67th minute.

Having lost once in their last ten home league games, Ben Strevens will be confident that his side can pick up a positive result on Sunday.

Their recent home success has come courtesy of a strong defence that has kept three clean sheets in their last five league games at the Silverlake Stadium.

Meanwhile, Weymouth are embroiled in a relegation battle, and they head into the new year a point adrift of safety.

After suffering five consecutive defeats, the Terras can take encouragement from their 1-0 victory over Hungerford Town in the FA Trophy last time out.

In that encounter, Josh McQuoid struck in the 84th minute to win the tie, and Weymouth will now aim to build upon that result on Sunday.

Although, there may be little optimism in the away dressing room, with Weymouth winning just two of their nine away league games this term.

Recently, Brian Stock's side have struggled to find the net on the road after failing to score in four of their last five league matches on their travels.

Eastleigh National League form:

Eastleigh form (all competitions):

Weymouth National League form:

Weymouth form (all competitions):

Team News

Jake Hesketh came into Eastleigh's starting lineup in midweek, and he is likely to keep his place in the side for Sunday's contest.

Captain Danny Hollands has started Eastleigh's last two league games, and he will partner Whelan in centre midfield against Weymouth.

Barnett will aim to score in consecutive games and he will be joined up front by Ryan Hill.

As for the visitors, Tom Blair is expected to keep his place in the side after starting the last two competitive fixtures.

Brandon Goodship will lead the line for Weymouth, and he will be aiming to add to the two league goals that he has scored this term.

Eastleigh possible starting lineup:
McDonnell; Hare, Broadbent, Boyce, Kelly; Pritchard, Hollands, Whelan, Hesketh; Hill, Barnett

Weymouth possible starting lineup:
Fitzsimons; Davies, Robinson, Olomowewe, Harfield; Cordner, Morgan, Solanke; McQuoid, Blair, Goodship

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We say: Eastleigh 3-1 Weymouth

With Weymouth struggling in the league, we think that Eastleigh will have enough quality to ease to their seventh home win of the National League season.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

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 Eastleigh win with a probability of 58.88%. A draw had a probability of 22.7% and a win for Weymouth had a probability of 18.43%.

The most likely scoreline for a Eastleigh win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.86%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.81%) and 2-1 (9.83%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.78%), while for a Weymouth win it was 0-1 (5.92%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 2.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Eastleigh would win this match.