Exeter vs Northampton Soccer Betting Tips

Wembley Endgame: Who will advance to League 3?

In the fourth English league, League Two, the decision about the last promoted player will be made on Monday evening. In the playoff final, Exeter and Northampton face off. According to the odds, the best bookmakers expect an exciting and balanced match at eye level. The venue for the game, which is so important for both clubs, is London’s Wembley Stadium, which will remain closed to spectators on Monday.

A few days ago, it was not to be expected that Exeter City and Northampton Town would face each other in the promotion final. Both teams lost their semi-final first leg and therefore stood with their backs to the wall before the second leg. Ultimately, however, there were two comeback victories that you would not have expected in advance.
There is no clear favorite for the playoff final. The teams are approximately equally strong, which logically makes it difficult to make a suitable prediction between Exeter and Northampton. Since in such a play-off game the form of the day usually decides anyway and the pressure on the part of the “Cobblers” from Northampton may be a little less due to expectations, we trust the team of trainer Keith Curle to advance to the English League One.

Exeter – Statistics & current form

To get to know the Exeter City Football Club better, it is worth taking a look at one or the other crazy anecdote. For example, in 1914 the Red and Whites were actually the club that helped the Brazilian national team to the very first football game. The fact that the South West England are playing their home games on a former pig farm and music legend Michael Jackson was probably the most famous fan of the “Grecians” are extremely interesting.

In sport, on the other hand, Exeter City has only had limited positive headlines in recent years and decades. The club received media attention mainly by moving into the third round of the FA Cup in the 2015/2016 season, when the big Liverpool FC was even sent into a replay at the time. Since then, however, the red-whites have calmed down again.

Michael Jackson was once the fourth division’s biggest fan

This should end on Monday. In the playoff final, the team of coach Matt Taylor fights for the first promotion since 2009. The Grecians spent three years in League One before heading down to the fourth division. In the past three seasons, Exeter reached the playoff final twice, but lost both times to the opponents who were worse placed in the classification. There is therefore a small curse on Exeter’s Wembley games.

Thanks to fifth place in the regular season, the Red-Whites are allowed to start again this year. With 18 wins, eleven draws and eight defeats, Exeter played a decent season, although the Taylor eleven had no three in a row before the forced break.

Exeter needed the extra time in the semi-finals

This negative series eventually continued in the playoff semi-final after the break when the Grecians lost 0-1 to Colchester United. In the return leg in their own stadium, however, the kickers came back from the southwest of the country and fought their way into extra time, in which the decision could finally be brought about.

Because of the Wembley curse and the fact that many experts consider the rise of the red-whites to be more likely and consequently the pressure increases, we would tend to refrain from predicting the fifth place in the main round between Exeter and Northampton. In terms of personnel, the 38-year-old coach can draw on almost everything. Only Lee Martin is struggling and could sit on the bench for the time being.

Probable lineup of Exeter:
Maxted; Sweeney, Martin, Moxey; Williams, Taylor, Law, Collins, Richardson; Fisher, Bowman

Last Exeter games:

League 2 playoff
06/22 2020 Exeter 3 – 1 Colchester
06/18 2020 Colchester 1 – 0 Exeter
League 2
03/07 2020 Walsall 3 – 1 Exeter
03/03 2020 Exeter 1 – 1 Crewe
02/29 2020 Exeter 1 – 1 Crawley

Northampton – Statistics & current form

Northampton Town was still in League One in 2017/2018 before relegation to 22nd was sealed. After the direct re-emergence last year crashed into 15th place in the League Two, the Cobblers 2019/2020 made it back to the playoffs.

The kickers from the city around 100 kilometers north of London benefited from the termination of the regular season after 27 match days, when they were in seventh place and were the last team to fix the move into the playoffs. There it went in the semi-final against the favorite Cheltenham, who could also play this role in the first leg.

Northampton in the semi-final second leg with a top performance

At home there was a bitter 0-2 defeat, which was actually a preliminary decision. In the second leg, however, the almost impossible happened. The cobblers won 3-0 away and played themselves into a real frenzy at times. The increased self-confidence after this outstanding match should definitely be one of the reasons to allude between Exeter and Northampton to the alleged sheer outsider.

Those who have already left with one and a half legs like to develop a “now for now” mentality that can ultimately lead to the greatest possible success. Even though Northampton was seventh in League Two in the regular season, seven points less than Exeter, we expect a duel at eye level, in which the nuances speak for the team of the experienced Keith Curle. Changes in the starting eleven are not expected after the top performance at Cheltenham. We are also not aware of any significant failures.

Probable line-up of Northampton:
Arnold; Goode, Turnbull, Wharton; Harriman, McCormack, Watson, Hoskins, Adams; Oliver, Morton

Last games from Northampton:

League 2 playoff
06/22 2020 Cheltenham 0-3 Northampton
06/18 2020 Northampton 0-2 Cheltenham
League 2
03/07 2020 Northampton 1 – 2 Mansfield
02/29 2020 Grimsby 0-3 Northampton
02/25 2020 Cheltenham 2 – 1 Northampton

Exeter vs Northampton Direct comparison

So far there have been 14 games between the two clubs in the fourth highest English league. Northampton clearly leads the direct comparison with nine wins. Exeter was only able to win three matches. The home team prevailed in the current season. Exeter won 3-2 at home; Northampton Town prevailed 2-0 in front of their home crowd.

In at least five of the recent six direct duels, the Over 2.5 was cracked. However, it was never a promotion endgame. Due to the enormous importance, a more careful approach can be assumed, which is why the bet on a maximum of two hits in the course of the game could also make sense.

Exeter vs Northampton Free Betting Tips

Even if it is “only” about promotion to England’s third-highest division and logically no fans are allowed, we expect an explosive and emotional duel at eye level on Monday evening in the playoff final in Wembley between Exeter City and Northampton Town. There will definitely be a decision about who will accompany Crewe Alexandra and Swindon Town to League One, either after extra time or even on penalties.

If we look at the bookmakers’ betting odds between Exeter and Northampton, it becomes clear that there is no clear favorite. Both teams fought their way through the semi-finals thanks to a success in the second leg and even in the regular season there were only seven points between the clubs, each of which had experience in the third division of England.

Key facts – Exeter vs Northampton tips

Both clubs made it into the final by winning the second leg
Northampton made a strong impression at 3-0 in Cheltenham
Nine of the 14 direct duels in League Two went to Northampton

Nevertheless, the Cobblers from Northampton convinced us a bit more. The 3-0 in the second leg at Cheltenham was a demonstration of their own strength. With the fueled self-confidence, we trust the Curle-Elf to do a lot on Monday.

The fact that the Grecians have played two playoff finals at Wembley in the past three years has also spoken for our Exeter against Northampton tip on the seventh after the regular season, both losing out on the poorly placed opponents. So is there a curse on the red-whites?

Betting Tips: Northampton
Odds: 1.91