Exeter City vs Mansfield Town Predictions

Exeter’s strong start to the season continued last time out, as they beat Morecambe away from home. The Grecians have now won three of their first five, while they remain unbeaten. Such form means that Saturday’s hosts come into this game as the League Two leaders. In contrast, Mansfield, who’re without a win in two and someway off where they want to be.

Tough to beat is the perfect way to describe Exeter at the start of this season. The Grecians have been far from flamboyant, while they’ve not gone out there and dished out heavy beatings, but by being defensively solid hard to break down, they’ve made life very tough for the opponents.

An average of 0.6 goals against shows that teams have found it hard to score against Exeter, while Matt Taylor’s men have generally capitalised, as an average of 1.2 goals for suggests. In time, they will need to improve in terms of creativity, as an average of 0.89 expected goals for shows that they’ve not exactly put teams under a great deal of pressure, though they’ve surrendered 0.96 expected goals for on average, which if maintained will always provide a platform from which to build, even if they’re not the strongest going forward.

Unlike Exeter, Mansfield have been creating lots this season. Saturday’s visitors come into this match having scored eight goals in five games, while an average of 1.75 expected goals suggests that they’ve created enough opportunities to warrant slightly more than that. After posting expected goals for figures of 2.47 and 2.04 in their last two matches, the Stags will fancy themselves to make significant headway at St James Park on Saturday afternoon.

However, while the Stags have impressed offensively, they’ve not looked too sharp at the back, as they’ve conceded an average of 1.4 goals, which seems more than fair given that they’ve conceded an average of 1.44 expected goals. Moreover, Mansfield have conceded at least twice in three of their opening five matches, so there’s clear hope for Exeter, even if the Grecians haven’t been the most forceful in the final third.

In the betting, ‘Both Teams to Score’ catches the eye. Mansfield have performed as though scoring goals is not going to be a problem this term. After producing some strong figures over the first five matches, the visitors appear to have what it takes to notch on Saturday. Exeter, who’ve scored in both of their home games this season, haven’t looked as good going forward, but the visitors have clear defensive deficiencies, which bodes well for the hosts. Ultimately, given that the Stags are averaging 1.6 goals for and 1.4 against, not to mention 1.75 expected goals for and 1.44 against, the chances of both teams notching on Saturday appear to be slightly greater than the current odds would have us believe.