Two teams level on points in the League One table and hoping to close in on the playoff spots square off at St James' Park on Saturday and 11th-placed Exeter City play host to 12th-placed Charlton Athletic.
The Grecians and the Addicks meet for the first time since March when they played out a 1-1 draw in this exact fixture, with Ben Purrington's early opener cancelled out by an 87th-minute Cheick Diabate own goal.
Match preview
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After accumulating 13 points during a five-game unbeaten run, Exeter have since suffered back-to-back defeats in League One against Reading and Huddersfield, losing 2-0 away against the latter a fortnight ago.
The Grecians returned to winning ways just three days later, albeit leaving it late to secure a 3-2 victory over Bristol Rovers in the EFL Trophy group stage, and they were then forced to come behind to beat non-league side Barnet in a frantic eight-goal affair at St James' Park in the FA Cup first round last weekend.
Losing 3-2 with just five minutes plus stoppage time remaining, Exeter were seemingly on course to be knocked out in the FA Cup first round for the 49th time in their history - only Rochdale (50) have ever been knocked out at this stage on more occasions - but three late goals helped turn the tie on its head in dramatic fashion.
Gary Caldwell admitted after the match that his side "rode their luck" against an "outstanding" Barnet side, but his players ultimately "had more ammunition" in the "gun fight" and have been rewarded with a second-round tie at home to Chesterfield at the end of this month.
Exeter will now shift their focus back to League One and are gearing up for a tricky test against a Charlton side who have won five of the last six league meetings between the two teams - the exception was the aforementioned 1-1 draw in this exact fixture last season.
Charlton travel to St James' Park in buoyant mood as they have put together a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions, most recently beating Southend United 4-3 after extra time in a thrilling FA Cup first-round tie last weekend.
In League One, the Addicks have collected six points across their last four games, with a 1-0 win over title favourites Birmingham City followed by three successive score draws with Stockport County, Barnsley and Wrexham.
Nathan Jones will be hoping to see his Charlton side improve their away form in the coming weeks, as they have won just two of their last 10 league matches on the road, keeping just two clean sheets during this run which both came in 1-0 victories.
Charlton head into Saturday's contest with Exeter unbeaten in their last three visits to St James' Park (W2 D1) having previously losing nine of their first 13 away encounters between 1921 and 2010.
Team News
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Exeter trio Vinnie Harper, Caleb Watts and Amani Richards all remain sidelined with injuries, while Saturday's game will also come too soon for Johnly Yfeko.
After scoring a hat-trick against Barnet, Josh Magennis has put himself in contention to start again up front, while Caldwell has said that there are other places up for grabs in his first XI following last weekend's cup win.
Demetri Mitchell has impressed off the bench in the last two matches, scoring one and assisting one, and is in contention to start for the first time this season, while Jay Bird, Edward Francis and Kamari Doyle will also be pushing for a recall.
As for Charlton, Chuks Aneke, Lloyd Jones, Kayne Ramsay, Daniel Potts, Daniel Kanu and Tyreece Campbell are all set to remain sidelined with injuries.
The likes of Thierry Small, Karoy Anderson and Greg Docherty, who all began as substitutes last weekend, are expected to be recalled, while top scorer Matt Godden - who has six goals to his name this term - is set to lead the line.
Exeter City possible starting lineup:
Whitworth; Sweeney, Crama, Purrington; McMillan, Francis, Wood, Niskanen; Aitchison, Mitchell; Magennis
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Mannion; Watson, A. Mitchell, Gillesphey, Small; Coventry, Docherty, Anderson, Berry, Leaburn; Godden
We say: Exeter City 2-2 Charlton Athletic
Exeter will fancy their chances of breaching Charlton's backline this weekend as they have scored at least one goal in each of their last 11 home league matches - the Grecians have not enjoyed a longer run since October 2019 (13).
Charlton, meanwhile, have found the net in 11 of their last 14 away league games and although they are missing a few players due to injury, we can see Jones's side claiming at least a share of the spoils in this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
