Stevenage vs Newport County Predictions

Stevenage couldn’t manage to build on their Boxing Day victory on Saturday. They had ended a run of 4 games without a win when they beat Colchester United 2-1 away from home, but a trip to Crewe proved too much for them in the last game of 2018 as they fell to a 1-0 defeat.

It’s been a pretty poor end to 2018 for a Stevenage side who looked good value for a League 2 playoff spot towards the end of November. They have won 1, drawn 1, and lost 4 of their last 6 outings, pushing them down to 12th in the table. Fortunately for them, they are still only 5 points adrift of the playoff spots and are still in with a chance if they can reverse their fortunes soon.

Newport County are in a similar position to their opponents, although unlike Stevenage they haven’t had any respite from the disappointment during December. Their most recent outing – A goalless draw at home to Crawley – made it 4 games without a win and leaves them 10th in the table with a 4 point deficit on those valued playoff spots.

That goalless draw did offer a break from their recent defensive woes though. They had lost their previous 3 matches on the bounce and conceded 9 goals in the process, and their 41 goals conceded makes them the joint 2nd worst defensive side in the entirety of League 2.

Fortunately for The Ironsides, they do have a pretty productive attacking force as well. They have netted 35 goals in their 24 games and have only failed to score in 1 of their last 16 League 2 matches. Away from home they haven’t failed to score since their first trip away of the season, although the other side of that coin is the fact that they have kept just 2 away clean sheets all season.

Stevenage, meanwhile, have scored in 8 of their 12 home games and have failed to keep a clean sheet in the same number. Considering Newport County’s high scoring ways we think Both Teams to Score looks a great option here. The visitors have lost 5 of their last 6 trips away though, so we also fancy a 2-1 win for the hosts on Tuesday.