Cheltenham vs Tranmere Predictions

Things had been going well for Cheltenham, who not that long ago looked to be fighting a relegation battle, but they tasted defeat for the first time in seven league matches last weekend, while they were unable to regain the winning thread in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday evening.

As touched on above, for a while, it did look like a relegation battle was inevitable as far as Cheltenham were concerned, though the Robins have gone through the gears over the last or month or so and now look like a side that can both hurt teams offensively and remain competitive in games.

Defensively, Michael Duff’s men still look shaky; they’ve conceded in seven of their last ten, while they’re surrendering an average of 1.59 expected goals, but they have improved offensively. The fact that they’ve scored eight in their last four matches is pleasing.

Even at home, the Robins look less than secure at the back, as they’ve shipped at least once in each of their last eight at Whaddon Road, while their average of 1.6 expected goals against at home doesn’t exactly scream defensive strength. Duff’s side have conceded expected goals figures of 2.89, 1.21, 1.68, 1.39 and 1.3 in their last five at home, so it’s easy to see why clean sheets have eluded them. Fortunately, they’ve recorded expected goals for figures of 2.13, 1.92, 1.26, 1.75 and 0.85, so they are at least getting competitive offensively.

Tranmere have looked a lot more solid than Saturday’s hosts this season, though most of their defensive work has come on home soil. Away from home, Micky Mellon’s men have been conceding plenty of goals. They conceded just one away against Macclesfield last time out on the road in League Two, but that was the first time in six away matches that they’d not conceded at least twice.

Given the fact that the visitors have shipped plenty of goals away from home of late, coupled with the fact that they’ve shipped an average of 1.63 expected goals on their travels, this is a decent opportunity for Cheltenham to continue doing well in the final third, though they’re unlikely to have the defensive quality to go through this match unscathed.

At the prices, ‘Over 2.5 Goals’ catches the eye. Neither Cheltenham nor Tranmere are strangers to high-scoring fixtures in their respective home and away matches, while there has certainly been no shortage of chances in Cheltenham’s home games of late. In their last five at Whaddon Road, there’s been an average of 3.25 expected goals, so it would be no surprise whatsoever to see the net bulge several times on Saturday afternoon.