FOREST GREEN ROVERS vs PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
Saturday 16th November 1500hrs
Football – England – League Two
Pick Forest Green
Bookmaker Bet365
Odds: 2.37 (odds taken 15:03 GMT, 14 November )
Plymouth Argyle were one of the pre-season favourites to win the League Two title, although the Pilgrims haven’t quite managed to find the sort of consistency that will have them challenging for promotion. Conversely, Forest Green have been difficult to beat and currently lead the charge.
Forest Green Prediction – Rovers Top of the League Under Cooper
Forest Green are clearly an unfashionable team to back in League Two and their underlying stats this season means that you can get them at a juicy price to claim three points against mid-table opposition this weekend.
Rovers were in the promotion mix last season and had a real chance of landing a place in League One automatically before having to settle for a play-off spot where they failed to produce the goods against Tranmere Rovers, although manager Mark Cooper is determined not to go through that process again.
Despite losing star striker Christian Doidge, Forest Green have had an excellent start to the season. We’re now over a third of the way through the League Two campaign and the eco-friendly team from The New Lawn are a point ahead at the top of the table and it’s mainly down to having a solid defence.
Cooper is an effective manager at this level and his team have shipped just ten goals all season, with the Gloucestershire side coming into this game off the back of three straight victories (we’re disregarding a midweek Football League Trophy clash against Walsall where a weakened team will be played).
Rovers claimed a 2-0 win at Morecambe before following this up with a 1-0 victory away to Cheltenham and the team then took to the road for a third consecutive occasion to claim a solid 4-0 triumph away to Billericay which was a professional performance of the highest order.
Joseph Mills is one of the best left-backs in the division, with the penalty-taking defender regularly getting forward for his team and he’s joined by players such as Liam Shepherd and Carl Winchester who were among those who suffered that play-off disappointment last season.
The in-form striker is Jack Aitchison who Forest Green have managed to snaffle on loan, with the nineteen-year-old having scored for the previous four occasions and he’s been a breath of fresh air for a team who are showing no ill-effects from losing Doidge.
Nine wins from sixteen games played thus far means that we’re happy to back Forest Green to register another win at The New Lawn. This might not be a fortress given the size and location of the ground although it’s proving to be an effective place to play.
Plymouth Argyle Prediction – Rocky Season For Lowe at Home Park
Ryan Lowe worked a minor miracle to engineer automatic promotion for Bury FC last season considering that the Lancashire club actually went bust just a few months after becoming a League One club, with the manager having already departed for Plymouth Argyle before a winding up order was issued.
Many expected the Scouser to head to Home Park and engineer another League Two promotion at the Devon Club, although it’s not been plain sailing for Lowe despite the fact that he’s managed to recruit several players from Bury including the impressive Danny Mayor who was last season’s best in the division.
The Pilgrims began the season with straight wins over Crewe and Colchester, although that was followed by just one victory in ten matches played and it’s clear that Lowe might need longer than an entire campaign to start getting things right at a club who were relegated from League One last season.
It was particularly concerning that Plymouth suffered a 4-0 defeat at Exeter towards the end of October, although form has largely picked up and Lowe won’t be too concerned about his team’s league position considering there’s a massive chunk of the season left.
A morale-boosting FA Cup win at a resurgent Bolton Wanderers last weekend suggests that the team will put up a decent fight in this game and a victory would really get them back into the promotion picture and prove that they can go to one of the leading teams in the division and get the job done.
Along with Mayor, Callum McFadzean is another former Bury recruit who is delivering for his manager, while Antoni Sarcevic is a tough-tackling midfielder who will look to protect a back four who haven’t always looked watertight.
Key-Facts – Forest Green vs Plymouth
- Forest Green have only conceded 5 goals at home
- Forest Green have scored 2 goals in their last 4 meaningful matches
- Plymouth have lost 50% of their away matches this season
Betting Tips Verdict
Quite simply, Argyle have lost half of their eight matches played to date, with four defeats already being suffered and we think they’re coming into this fixture at the wrong time, with Forest Green looking to stretch clear at the top of the division and they’re currently very difficult to beat.
