The Exiles have climbed back into the top three of the League Two table thanks to three straight league wins, most recently defeating Carlisle United.

Match preview

Hartlepool United manager Graeme Lee applauds fans after the match on February 5, 2022 © Reuters

After a brief dip in form in February saw their position at the top end of League Two worsen, Newport County have bounced back into the top three in recent weeks, hugely improving their chances of earning automatic promotion thanks to a run of four wins from their last five outings.

Following back-to-back defeats to Forest Green Rovers and Northampton Town and draws with Oldham Athletic and Mansfield Town, James Rowberry's side made a return to winning ways by beating promotion-chasing rivals Tranmere Rovers 4-2 before earning a point from a draw in the reverse fixture with league leaders Forest Green.

Since that stalemate, the Exiles have recorded three straight victories to move back into the automatic promotion spots, firstly toppling Bristol Rovers and Stevenage.

The Welsh outfit added to that with another three-point haul on Tuesday, seeing out a 2-1 away win at Carlisle United thanks to goals from Mickey Demetriou and Finn Azaz.

As a result, they remain third in League Two, albeit with fourth-placed Tranmere only trailing on goal difference, meaning Rowberry's men will know they have no room for error if they are to stay in the top three and earn automatic promotion to the third tier.

Hartlepool, meanwhile, will travel on Friday with the intention of returning to winning ways after a brief blip in their campaign.

Comfortably sat in the top half after 32 league games and with an EFL Trophy semi-final meeting with Rotherham United looming, Graeme Lee's side looked set for an impressive season upon their return to the fourth tier.

Despite a valiant effort, in which they took the lead twice through Joe Grey and Luke Molyneux, the Pools eventually lost out to the League One leaders on a penalty shootout, and they have been unable to bounce back from that, firstly being held to a goalless stalemate at home to Leyton Orient.

They then met Bradford City last time out, and, after the game looked set to end goalless with neither able to break the deadlock in the opening 70 minutes, the Bantams eventually went ahead through Matty Foulds before Yann Songo'o ensured they took all three points.

The slight dip in form has seen Lee's men drop to 12th spot in the fourth tier, and, with Bradford now only two points behind, they will be keen to add three points to their tally to keep hold of their position in the top half of the division.

Newport County League Two form:

Hartlepool United League Two form:

Hartlepool United form (all competitions):

Team News

Newport County remain without Kevin Ellison and Courtney Senior due to long-term injuries, while Priestley Farquharson also missed out last time out and may not return in time for Friday's game.

Their line will be led by Dom Telford, who tops the league's scoring charts with 24 goals from his 28 appearances this term, while Alex Fisher and Lewis Collins will battle to displace Rob Street and partner the 25-year-old.

The front two should again be supported by Finn Azaz, after the attacking midfielder netted his sixth league goal of the campaign last time out.

Midfielder Bryn Morris should remain Hartlepool's only absentee, as the Burton Albion loanee continues to battle through an injury.

Joe Grey and Luke Molyneux will likely keep their places in the front three, while dangerous forward Omar Bogle is vying to return to the starting XI, having already hit four league goals since his January arrival from Doncaster Rovers.

Newport County possible starting lineup:
Townsend; Norman, Clark, Demetriou, Haynes; Bennett; Dolan, Waite; Azaz; Telford, Fisher

Hartlepool United possible starting lineup:
Killip; Sterry, Burn, Odusina, Ferguson; White, Featherstone, Smith; Molyneux, Bogle, Grey

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We say: Newport County 2-1 Hartlepool United

With their confidence growing each week, we back Newport to stretch their winning run to four league games on Friday.

The Exiles will know they need to keep positing victories to remain in the top three, and, against a Hartlepool side in a slight dip, Rowberry's side are likely to get the job done.

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 Newport County win with a probability of 58.92%. A draw had a probability of 22.9% and a win for Hartlepool United had a probability of 18.18%.

The most likely scoreline for a Newport County win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.3%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.05%) and 2-1 (9.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.88%), while for a Hartlepool United win it was 0-1 (6.06%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 1.3% likelihood.