Statistical Preview: Braintree Town (A)

Scunthorpe have won their last two fixtures and will be looking to extend this in their upcoming game against Braintree.

Scunthorpe currently sit 5th in the National League and are chasing promotion. Whereas Braintree sit 23rd and are trying to battle their way out of the relegation zone.

Andy's Bet Club’s football analyst will break down Braintree’s recent clash with Morecambe to see what the statistics suggest about how they might set up against Scunthorpe.

Morecambe vs Braintree Town

Despite having less of the ball in the game, it was Morecambe who created the best chances in front of goal. From their 18 shots in the game, they created an xG (expected goals) of 3.64. In comparison, Braintree created an xG of 1.18 from their 12 shots.

Braintree’s goalkeeper put in a strong performance, only conceding one goal from Morecambe’s xG of 3.64 and post-shot xG (psxG) of 2.61.

The passing statistics show that Morecambe were quite direct with the ball with a long pass percentage of 17%, resulting in a passing accuracy of 72%. Whereas Braintree were less direct with a long pass percentage of 12% and had a passing accuracy of 82%.

Both sides were strong with their press and had a PPDA (Passes per Defensive Action) better than the league average (11.6). Morecambe had a PPDA of 9.2 and recovered the ball in the opponents half on 33 occasions. Braintree had a PPDA of 6.4 and had 21 opponent half recoveries.

Final Thoughts

Scunthorpe have scored 11 goals in their last five (over 2 goals per game) so they will be confident in finding the net, especially against a Braintree side that have conceded five in their last two games.

Although Braintree are the lowest scorers in the league so far with 29 goals, the expected goals stats tell a different story. They have created an xG of 53.12 which is the 11th highest in the league, so they are creating enough chances, they just need to improve their finishing in front of goal.

Both Scunthorpe and Braintree have similar PPDA stats this season, with Scunthorpe averaging 9.8 and Braintree averaging 10.5. Both of these are better than the league average of 11.7 so both can expect significant pressure from the opposition when trying to play out from the back.

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