NEWPORT - FLEETWOOD

Next on the agenda is a quick dip into League Two in Tuesday night’s solitary fixture between hosts Newport County and play-off candidates Fleetwood Town at Rodney Parade.
Following some disappointing results lately, Justin Edinburgh’s boys have now dropped out of the play-off reckoning on the back of just one league win from their last ten which was thanks to a 3-2 home win over Oxford United in mid-February. But six defeats during this run has taken it’s toll on the Welsh outfit and they now sit in 11^th position and seven points adrift of 7^th placed Southend United.

However, Newport will take heart from their recent matches at home against top six opposition such as their win over Oxford United and Saturday’s 2-2 draw with second placed Scunthorpe United particularly as they snatched a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time to grab a point. The Exiles’ overall home record stands at  8-2-4  28/18 and they’ve also beaten Southend United and Chesterfield at Rodney Parade already this season.
Visitors Fleetwood Town have also recorded some indifferent results of late with a 2-0 home win over Northampton Town before suffering back-to-back defeats against Mansfield Town 0-1 away and an embarrassing 0-4 home loss to Plymouth Argyle. Fleetwood managed a clean sheet against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday in a dour 0-0 draw at their Highbury Stadium while the loss at Mansfield ended a four match unbeaten run away from home.
Fleetwood are very inconsistent on the road though, and you have to be careful when either backing them or backing against them as their overall away record of  8-2-6  17/14 suggests. They are without doubt the Peterborough of League Two and you can never be too sure of which Fleetwood side will take the field on any given occasion.
My pick may surprise a few people but despite their recent results, Newport are more than capable of raising their game against the better opposition particularly at Rodney Parade so I’ll back them with the handicap on offer as I believe they are worth at least a draw here tonight. Newport might indeed edge this one perhaps 2-1.


Pick:  Newport County AH+0.25 @ 1.67