Cambridge United vs Forest Green Rovers Predictions

Cambridge, who’ve lost each of their last three matches, two in League Two and one in the EFL Cup, will be hoping to bounce back when they host Forest Green at Abbey Stadium on Saturday afternoon, though beating useful opposition will be anything but straightforward.

They may have lost each of their last two league matches, failing by a goal to nil against Port Vale and losing 2-1 against Oldham, but it’s not been all doom and gloom for Cambridge, who prior to those losses were unbeaten in four.

Colin Calderwood’s men have been a bit underwhelming at times; they’ve drawn a blank on three occasions, scoring an average of just a goal per game, though they’ve not given too much away, keeping two clean sheets and surrendering an average of just six goals in six matches. Saturday’s hosts also boast a reasonably pleasing expected goal difference of +0.33, which tells us that they’ve generally created a little bit more than they’ve given away, which is maintained over the long term should hold them in good stead.

The same cannot exactly be said for Forest Green, who’ve been struggling to create more than their opponents. Saturday’s visitors are not an easy side to get the better of, what with their possession-based approach, but they seem to lack a cutting edge.

Mark Cooper’s men head into match-day seven having scored a rather measly four goals in six matches. Fortunately, they’ve only conceded four in six, keeping a pleasing three clean sheets in the process. However, if we consider the fact that they currently have an average expected goal difference of -0.69, it’s not terribly difficult to conclude that Rovers need to start creating more if they want to challenge for the top six.

Given that they’re at home, Cambridge look a good price to emerge victorious on Saturday. Forest Green are no mugs, that’s for sure, but their overall efforts on the road have been somewhat displeasing, as they’ve created only 0.81 expected goals for per game and have surrendered a rather large 2.03. In contrast, Cambridge, have created an average of 1.85 expected goals for at home and have given up just 0.83. Such numbers point towards the hosts doing slightly better than the current odds would have us suggest and thus a punt on the hosts to get the job done appeals.