Scunthorpe vs Carlisle Predictions

• Under 2.5 goals have been scored in four of Scunthorpe’s last five games, and in four of the last five featuring Carlisle.
• Scunthorpe and Carlisle have two of League Two’s worst attacking records, netting 19 goals in 22 games, and 15 in 21, respectively.
• Carlisle have won one of their last nine on the road.

Crucial basement clash awaits on New Year’s Day

Scunthorpe’s Boxing Day win over Oldham was their last outing, owing to Covid-enforced postponements across the league, and followed a run of four successive draws. The Irons, now unbeaten in five, trail Saturday’s visitors Carlisle by mere goal difference, as they look to leapfrog Keith Millen’s team into safety.

Saturday’s relegation six-pointer will likely be tense and tight; while Scunthorpe have only netted 19 goals in 22 league games this season, their visitors have managed a woeful 15 in 21. Meanwhile, fewer than three goals have been scored in four of the last five games played by both of these struggling outfits.

At home, Scunthorpe have won just two of their 10 league matches, netting a dreadful eight goals in the process. Carlisle, meanwhile, average under a goal per game on their travels, netting nine times on their 11 road trips, and earning just two wins.

Entertainment unlikely when strugglers meet

Given the attacking woes suffered by both relegation-battling sides so far this term, backing under 2.5 match goals seems a strong play, for what is almost certain to be a nervous encounter at Glanford Park.

Keith Hill’s Scunthorpe had shown a capacity for remaining solid and grinding out results before the decimated festive period, making a 1-0 home win a sound correct score prediction.