Colchester United
- Colchester United are in a fairly solid mid-table slot after 28 league matches and are hard to place.
- The U’s have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five fixtures.
- Colchester are a well organised side with an identity and they’re often very efficient in the way they progress through their defensive line, playing in a patient and structured way before hitting teams on the counter.
Shrewsbury Town
- Gavin Cowan has taken over Shrewsbury Town in the middle of the season and has shifted their approach to football from a possession-based game towards a more direct and combative style of football.
- Cowan’s men now line up in a 3-5-2 formation and their primary aim this season is survival.
Head-to-Head
- Shrewsbury Town are struggling in 22nd place, 23 points from 28 games.
- Colchester won 2-0 away from home when these sides last met five months ago in League Two.
Key Players
- Shrews’ player with the most goals this season is George Lloyd, who has just three from 25 appearances.
- Colchester’s top scorer Kyreece Lisbie has ten goals in 28 League Two appearances and is the talisman of the side, as he’s their main target man.
- Shrewsbury are likely to try to keep Lisbie as quiet as possible on Saturday as this could be a game that’s won or lost in the wide areas and central midfield areas.
- Colchester like to keep it tight and play through the thirds in a 4-2-3-1, which can suit their target man, who is always looking to get on the end of things.
- Shrewsbury are physical and will be combative as Cowan’s primary aim will be survival, while Lloyd is a willing runner and can provide some of that grit up front.
- Colchester have a respectable home record (W6, D4, L4) and have conceded just 1.07 goals per game at home this campaign.
- Shrewsbury are conceding 2.29 goals per game away from home and are scoring under a goal per match on their travels.
Betting Insights
- Colchester are 1.62 favourites for this contest, while Shrewsbury are outsiders at 5.9.
- Under 2.5 goals is priced up at 1.7, which is fair given neither side are in top form in front of goal.
Prediction
We feel that Colchester are likely to have the edge in this contest given the respective home and away records of these two teams and the odds reflect that.
