Swindon vs Cambridge United Predictions

Since beating Yeovil Town 3-0 in an impressive derby win, Swindon have not emerged victorious in a league match in six games. They drew goalless with Oldham at home, before being beaten by Crewe away from home. Another home draw, this time 1-1 against Northampton came about, before they were beaten 2-0 away by Exeter in a West Country derby.

At the weekend, the run continued with another home goalless draw, this time against Mansfield Town. Whilst it was an improved performance from Phil Brown’s side, the fact Mansfield were down to ten men for over 45 minutes of the match and Swindon could not take advantage is frustrating. They had a number of chances and did hit the post but they would have wanted to win that, especially given the circumstances.

Indeed, scoring goals appears to have been a problem for Swindon in recent matches, particularly with top scorer Michael Doughty out injured. The team have scored the joint-third least in the top half with 17 goals and Swindon have only scored once in their last five league games. With Doughty back from injury, things could pick up but it could take some time for the team to find their shooting boots once more. There is enough quality within the squad to challenge for the play-offs but they have to become more consistent, especially in attack.

After an awful run, Cambridge finally picked up a decent point in a 1-1 away draw at league leaders Lincoln City. The home side had a man sent off after 30 minutes but Cambridge performed well before then, equalising soon after Lincoln had in the 6th minute. After the sending off, Cambridge dominated proceedings and will have been disappointed not to have won the match, having had a number of chances to. However, they can take a lot of positives from the match, particularly playing so well against the best side in the league.

The performance was in contrast to Cambridge’s previous games, having lost their previous four matches. The team seem to have a weak mentality, not being able to hold on to leads, having lost 4-2 against Newport after going two goals up and being defeated 3-1 by Forest Green Rovers, yet taking a 1-0 lead in at half-time during that match.

Moreover, in losses against Crawley and MK Dons, Cambridge dominated the matches and had the lion’s share of chances but could not finish them and were duly punished. It suggests that this team lacks the quality to do well in the division,  particularly after it emerged the club’s owner had slashed the budget by £500,000. With only three senior players signed in the summer, it could still be a season of struggle for Cambridge but in that draw at Lincoln, the team showed heart and quality which they should use that to push on.

Indeed, we think it will be a really tight match on Tuesday, with neither side in the best of form going forward. Cambridge will set up to frustrate the hosts, whilst Swindon may take some time to get back into form. Therefore, backing Under 2.5 Goals has real value for this match. In terms of a correct score, we think Cambridge will get another positive result after the one against Lincoln in a 1-1 draw. Swindon will most likely have Michael Doughty back in some capacity and he can provide the spark for the team to get a goal to match Cambridge, who could be the slightly more confident of the teams.