Tranmere vs Newport County Predictions

Tranmere Rovers have adapted well to life in League Two and currently sit eighth after eight matches, with a respectable thirteen points accrued.

They have beaten a couple of teams from the bottom half at home, seeing off Cheltenham and Port Vale in close 1-0 games. These were essential matches to win, whilst their most recent game produced Tranmere’s most impressive result yet, a 2-0 away win at Carlisle. In their first away win of the season, Tranmere scored twice in the last ten minutes to snatch victory against a strong League Two side.

Moreover, they have gained points in games with other quality League Two sides. They shared the spoils with Colchester, as well as Mansfield in two competent performances that further proved they can compete against the better teams in the league. In addition, they have also drawn with Stevenage and Northampton away from home, which can be seen as two points gained, especially against Stevenage, where they came from two goals down.

They have been driven by a strong team spirt created by manager Micky Mellon, as well as the goals of striker James Norwood, who has scored seven times already this season and acts as the focal point of the team. They have the potential to challenge for a play-off spot, however, must eradicate the occasional lapse in performance standards, which has seen them lose against Crewe and Swindon, albeit in close-fought, thrilling matches.

Likewise to Tranmere, Newport were enjoying a great start to the season, however, after a devastating result in their last match, could be at risk of dropping off.

The team lost 6-0 at home to Yeovil Town in one of the most shocking results of the League Two campaign so far. Newport looked stunned throughout the match as Yeovil went in at half time 3-0 up, before repeating the exploits again in the second half. To compound the misery, Newport had defender Robbie Willmott sent off once the goals had gone up. Thus, this game is essential for Newport to show that they can recover from this.

Before that, the team had looked like serious promotion contenders. Other than an away loss to Mansfield on the opening day, they had not lost. They beat teams from the lower half, such as Crewe, Cambridge United, Notts County and Grimsby over the course of five games to rise up the table and demonstrate their quality in this division. Moreover, they drew away at fellow promotion contenders Exeter in a hard-fought match that showed they could match performances against weaker teams with stronger teams.

Indeed, in their last league match before the Yeovil loss, they had dug and beat Oldham away from home, another team in the play-offs that had showed significant attacking potency. The team had been solid rather than spectacular,  however, and this Yeovil loss has not only wiped out some confidence but also the positive goal difference that they had built up.

Therefore, whilst we think Newport County will respond to the Yeovil loss, it may take another match for them to win a game. Tranmere are a good team in this division and are more than able to suppress Newport’s attacks. A Draw seems an appropriate tip to make, which would be a good result for both teams. It would give Newport something to build on, whereas for Tranmere, it is another point gained from a top-six side. With Newport less confident and Tranmere not getting many goals against the bigger sides, we think it could be a low-scoring draw of 1-1.