Salford vs Northampton Predictions, Team News and Betting Tips

League Two's top side meets one of its strugglers when Salford City host Northampton Town at The Peninsula Stadium on Saturday 14 November, kick-off 3pm. Salford sit 1st in the League Two table on 31 points from 14 games, while Northampton are 21st on 14 points from 13, inside the relegation places. The visitors have also scored fewer goals per game than anyone in the division.

Salford lost 1-0 at Carlisle in the FA Cup last Saturday after eight straight wins in all competitions. Northampton arrive having been beaten 4-0 by York in the FA Cup that day, and they have lost their last two games in all competitions.

How the teams arrive

Salford's league record reads 10 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats, with 25 goals scored and 15 conceded. Before the Carlisle loss they had won eight in a row in all competitions, among them a 2-1 home win over Exeter City on 31 October, a 4-2 win at Walsall and a 2-1 win at Bristol Rovers. They average 1.79 goals a game, the 2nd most in League Two, and they have 4.36 shots on target a game, the 10th most. They also take 5.86 corners a game, the 4th most. At the back they have conceded 1.07 a game, the 4th fewest, and they have kept clean sheets in 29% of matches.

Northampton have won 3, drawn 5 and lost 5, scoring 9 goals and conceding 10. At 0.69 goals a game they are the lowest scorers in the division, yet they defend well, with 0.77 conceded a game, the 2nd fewest, and a clean sheet in 31% of games. Their last five games, in the league and the FA Cup, were a 1-0 home loss to Tranmere, a 2-0 win over Colchester, a 1-1 draw at Accrington, a 1-0 home loss to Oldham and then the 4-0 defeat at York.

Goals are scarce in their games. Both teams have scored in only 31% of Northampton's matches, the 2nd lowest rate in the league, and none of their league games has gone over 2.5 goals. Salford's games are the opposite, with over 2.5 goals in 57%, the 4th highest.

Predicted lineups

Salford possible starting lineup:
Norris; Oluwo, Aimson, Allen; Turton, Butcher, Bonds, Garbutt; Ben Woodburn, Graydon; Langstaff

Northampton possible starting lineup:
Jeacock; Dyche, Moore, McCarthy; Maxwell, Evans, Lemonheigh-Evans, Wormleighton; List, Dale; Warhurst

Players to watch

• Elliot Bonds (Salford): the defensive midfielder has had a shot in six straight games, averaging 1.8 a game, and has also committed a foul in six straight games, at 2.3 a game.
• Macaulay Langstaff (Salford): the striker has had a shot in nine straight games, averaging 2.8 a game over the run.
• Owen Dale (Northampton): the winger has had a shot in eight straight games, averaging 2.1 a game, and has also committed a foul in eight straight games, at 1.9 a game.
• Matty Warhurst (Northampton): the striker has had a shot in six straight games, averaging 2.8 a game, and has also committed a foul in six straight, at 1.5 a game.
• Joe Wormleighton (Northampton): the right-back has made at least one tackle in 10 straight games, averaging 4.1 a game over the run.

Match Leaders

Odds and Statz prediction

We back Salford to win, and the best price on the home side is 1.70 at midnite. Our model gives them a 54% chance of winning, with 27% for the draw and 19% for Northampton.

We predict a 1-0 win for Salford, the likeliest single scoreline at 13%, with 1-1 almost level with it and 2-0 next at 11%, so a draw is in play. We project Salford for 1.59 goals and Northampton for 0.83, and put 0-0 at 10%. Salford have kept a clean sheet in 29% of games and Northampton in 31%, and we put the home side's chance of a clean sheet in this game at 44% and the visitors' at 20%.