Despite being the League Two leaders right now, Forest Green Rovers will be hoping to get back to winning ways on Tuesday night when they travel to face Newport County after three games without a victory.
The hosts sit just outside of the playoff positions right now, missing out via goal difference, which is something that they could change in midweek.
Match preview
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Newport County showcased their attacking qualities in their most recent outing when they defeated Tranmere Rovers with a 4-2 victory with goals from Aaron Lewis and Finn Azaz while Dom Telford scored a brace.
The result kept them in contention for promotion, with only goal difference separating them and Swindon Town right now as the Exiles are sitting just outside of the playoffs.
This was their first victory in four games, which was a tough run that began the last time they faced Forest Green Rovers, who defeated them 2-0 due to a brace from Mathew Stevens.
Since that point, Newport were beaten again and then they drew twice, which is the type of form that they will be wanting to avoid in order to maintain the pressure on those above them.
The Exiles have performed well at Rodney Parade this season, winning half of their games, and if they can extend that they have the possibility of pushing further up the table.
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However, the visitors are the best performing team away from home this season, with Forest Green losing only one game on the road this season, which is a run that they will want to continue.
The Green Devils currently find themselves top of the table, but they were defeated by Crawley Town in their most recent outing with first-half goals from Ashley Nadesan and Jordan Tunnicliffe proving to be too much in a game that finished 2-1.
This was the third fixture in a row that Rob Edwards has witnessed his team fail to secure three points after losing to Walsall and drawing with Sutton United.
Despite the recent slump in form, Forest Green Rovers have managed to create a 10-point gap at the top of the table, and they had a game in hand on Northampton Town, who sit in second place.
However, after a trio of poor performances, the squad shall be hoping to kick on and get back to their dominant performances, especially in front of goal, as they have scored 62 times already in this campaign.
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Team News
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After scoring a brace at the weekend, Telford is likely to retain his place in the Newport County lineup, while Matthew Dolan could end up returning to the team after being used as a substitute.
However, the Exiles were missing both Courtney Baker-Richardson and Josh Pask on Saturday, and that will be the same situation on Tuesday, with both men set to miss six weeks of action due to calf problems.
Despite being a doubt heading into the match against Crawley Town, Jordan Moore-Taylor was able to return to the starting lineup in the heart of the back three for Forest Green.
However, at the other end of the field, Stevens will lead the line, and he will likely be joined by Jamille Matt, while Jack Aitchison will be hoping to feature yet again after appearing from the bench on Saturday.
Newport County possible starting lineup:
Townsend; Norman, Clarke, Demetriou, Lewis; Bennett, Willmott, Azaz, Cooper; Street, Telford
Forest Green Rovers possible starting lineup:
McGhee; Godwin, Malife, Moore-Taylor, Bernard; Cadden, Hendry, Stevenson, Wilson, Adams; Stevens, Matt
We say: Newport County 1-1 Forest Green Rovers
Both of these teams are pushing for promotion this season, and that places a lot of importance on each fixture, especially against other teams around themselves in the league.
While Forest Green Rovers have been dominant throughout the campaign, they are struggling for form as of late, and that could lead to the two teams battling it out to a draw this time around.
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 Forest Green Rovers win with a probability of 39.74%. A win for Newport County had a probability of 36% and a draw had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Forest Green Rovers win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.63%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (7.67%) and 0-2 (5.92%). The likeliest Newport County win was 2-1 (8.16%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.18%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.
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