Braintree Town FC (Home)
- Steve Pitt prefers a more pragmatic setup at Braintree Town FC, with his side preferring to sit in a low-to-mid block in a 4-2-3-1 formation, remaining compact at the back and dangerous on the counterattack and from set pieces.
- Braintree come into this one in poor form with no wins in their last five National League matches (D2, L3), following on from a 3-2 away loss to Southend United, a 0-0 home draw with Woking and a 3-1 defeat at Forest Green Rovers.
Rochdale (Away)
- Rochdale are the second-place team in the National League with 102 points from 44 games and Braintree Town FC are 23rd with 36 from the same number of games, so this weekend’s fixture is a massive game at both ends of the table.
- The Shakers are the most likely side to win on Saturday, however, and have been priced up as heavy favorites for the away victory.
- Jimmy McNulty has done a brilliant job at the helm of this Rochdale side, engineering a high-possession, fluid tactical system that is both flexible and strong in attack and defense.
- Rochdale are coming into this game in much better form with two wins, two draws and just one defeat in their last five (W2, D2, L1), a run which included a 2-4 home loss to Morecambe, a 0-0 away draw at Hartlepool United and a 2-1 home win over Wealdstone.
Head-to-Head
- Rochdale have won two of the last three meetings between the teams (Braintree won the other), and the sides have not drawn once.
- Rochdale have won 14 of their 22 away matches in the National League 2025-2026 (D5, L3).
Key Players
- Emmanuel Dieseruvwe is the team’s leading marksman with 24 goals in 38 league appearances, but Ian Henderson’s three goals in Rochdale’s last five have been just as important.
- Lewis Walker is the leading marksman at Braintree Town FC in the league with nine goals from 33 appearances, while he has two in his last five in the league.
- Braintree have netted just 18 times in 22 home games this season, so Walker can be a catalyst for the home side on Saturday.
Betting Insights
- The away win is the top value bet here, but Rochdale’s superior quality in attack and their better away record suggests that they will come out on top at Braintree, even though Braintree could be a tough nut to crack.
- Odds of 1.26 for a Rochdale away win look short given that, however, so we are going to take the over 2.5 goals bet at 1.47 and both teams to score at 1.83, which looks like a fairer price for what should be an attacking matchup between two teams who desperately need the win.
Prediction
Back over 2.5 goals and both teams to score in what should be an open, attacking game at Cressing Road Ground .
