T.N.S. vs Queens Park Predictions

Welsh Premier League champions The New Saints welcome Scottish League Two side Queen’s Park to Park Hall on Saturday in the 2^nd Round of the Challenge Cup.

The New Saints are looking to go one better in this season’s competitions having made it all the way to the Semi Finals of the tournament last year. In contrast, Queen’s Park exited the Challenge Cup at the 1^st Round stage in 2017/18.

TNS have started the new campaign in the same form that saw them top the Welsh Premier League by twelve points last season. The Saints have won three of their first four league games since the action got under way in August, scoring fourteen times in the process.

As always, The New Saints’ form at Park Hall has been terrific. In fact, they have won twenty-two of their last twenty-seven games there in all competitions, drawing one and losing just four times in total.

The Saints will come into Saturday’s match in good spirits, having beaten Carmarthen Town 6-0 and Caernarfon Town 3-0 in their last two fixtures respectively. Those victories have helped to ease the pain of successive defeats before to Connah’s Quay in the league and Midtjylland in the Europa League.

Queen’s Park make the trip south in good form themselves. The Scottish League Two side have lost just once in six ahead of their cup date in Wales. The Spiders have climbed to within one place of the playoffs in the early throes of the League Two season as they look to battle their way back to League One at the first time of asking.

Finding the net with regularity has been a problem for Gus MacPherson’s men however. Queen’s Park have only lost once in six, but it’s worth noting that during that successful sequence, the Spiders only managed to score five times.

It’s also worth pointing out that four of those six matches were played at Hampden Park and the Spiders recent positive record has probably taken on a false look, with home advantage being so prevalent.

Their away form will be a huge cause for concern for MacPherson – Queen’s Park haven’t won any of their last eight matches on the road in all competitions. In fact, they have won just two of their last fourteen on their travels in all.

The New Saints are an established, formidable force at home and they will relish taking on a team notoriously wobbly on the road. The Welsh champions should have little trouble seeing the Scots off and we recommend taking The New Saints half time/full time option for the weekend’s game.

Queen’s Park’s lack of cutting edge in forward areas is also likely to be a huge factor in determining the outcome of Saturday’s game. They have only found the net five times in their last eight matches in total. With that considered, we’re backing TNS to win to nil against the Spiders. Our correct score prediction forecasts a 2-0 win for The New Saints.