Eastleigh vs Newport Co predictions: In-form keepers to the fore in replay

- Both teams have not scored in seven of Newport’s last 11 away games
- Eastleigh have a doubt over attacker Scott Quigley for this replay
- Recommended Bet: Both Teams to Score - No

National League Eastleigh and League Two Newport County get to do it all again in Tuesday’s FA Cup third-round replay, this time at the home of the non-league club.

Silverlake Stadium will be packed out for the visit of the Exiles, who were denied by a late penalty in the original tie as the 10-man Spitfires secured a 1-1 draw.

And the stakes have been raised for this clash with Eastleigh boss Richard Hill describing it as “the biggest in the club’s history” after the winners were drawn to play Manchester United at home in round four.

Team news

Hill said Eastleigh will have to “wait and see” on the availability of experienced attacker Scott Quigley, who picked up a knock in their 1-0 National League defeat to Southend on Saturday and was substituted at half-time.

Ludwig Francillette, who came on to shore up the Spitfires’ defence when George Langston was sent off at Rodney Parade, looks set to deputise for the suspended centre-back from the start.

As for the Exiles, boss Graham Coughlan rested three of his starters from the original tie at the weekend, when Seb Palmer-Houlden came off the bench to grab a stoppage-time winner at Doncaster.

The striker is likely to resume his partnership with 17-goal leading scorer Will Evans, while Henry Charsley and Lewis Payne should come back into Newport’s five-man midfield.

But centre-back Matthew Baker sustained an ankle injury in the second half at Doncaster and looks set to miss out.

The stats

Eastleigh have avoided defeat in seven of their last eight home games, a run that includes FA Cup wins over Boreham Wood and Reading.

Newport have a rich recent history of drawing big Premier League clubs in cup competitions, having faced Tottenham in the FA Cup fourth round in 2018, Manchester City in the last 16 the following year and Newcastle in the EFL Cup in 2020.

The League Two outfit have not lost to non-league opposition in the cup since a second-round defeat to Kidderminster Harriers in 2013-14 – their first season back in the Football League. 

Both teams have scored in 13 of Eastleigh’s last 14 matches and 10 of the Exiles’ last 12 games. 

Prediction

Given both clubs’ recent records, both teams to score might be an obvious play for this rematch, but the circumstances are different now.

The players are one win away from earning a glamour fourth-round tie against 12-time winners United in which either would be catapulted into the national spotlight.

The fear of missing out on that opportunity could harm the prospects of an open, flowing contest unless one team gets in front early on.

Both starting goalkeepers played well in their respective league games last weekend and, with that in mind and the fact that both of those games finished 1-0, one of the two custodians could be capable of another clean sheet in this contest.

Back Both Teams to Score - No at 6/4 with LiveScore Bet.

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