STATISTICAL PREVIEW: Sutton United (A)

Introduction

Scunthorpe travel to the VBS Community Stadium on Saturday to face Sutton United.

Andy Butler’s Scunthorpe head into this off the back of a 2-0 home loss to Harrogate, a result that leaves them in 21st.

Sutton too are coming off the back of a defeat, as they fell to a 3-0 loss away at Barrow.

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Match Preview

Scunthorpe head into Saturday's game on the back of a 2-0 home defeat to Harrogate.

Harrogate scored through Will McGowan in the first half and Shaun McCoulsky early in the second, and held out despite giving up the greater share of possession for most of the 90 minutes.

Sutton travelled to Barrow last week and came away with nothing, beaten 3-0 as MJ Williams, Isaac Marriott and substitute Ben Whitfield all got on the scoresheet.

Sutton had spells of the game but were undone by a lack of cutting edge in front of goal, managing only two shots on target across the 90 minutes.

Scunthorpe United Form Guide

Saturday’s result means Scunthorpe have only won one of their last four league games.

Before the loss to Harrogate, Scunthorpe lost 4-2 away at Carlisle, Prior to that, they beat Solihull 3-1 and lost 3-2 away at Eastleigh.

Scunthorpe numbers from the Harrogate defeat show a team that dominated territory without troubling the scoreboard.

They had 60% of the ball and completed 367 of 471 passes (78%), yet managed only 0.58 xG, against Harrogate's 1.60.

Sutton United Form Guide

Sutton have lost their last two on the bounce; the 3-0 loss to Barrow last week followed a 2-0 home loss to Wealdstone.

Sutton's defeat at Barrow saw them shade possession only marginally, holding 48% of the ball, and lose the duels battle heavily, winning just 42% against Barrow's 57%.

Sam Folarin was Sutton’s biggest attacking threat in the Barrow game, registering 0.33 xG from two shots; however, neither found the target.

Toby Byron was Sutton's most involved player, completing 31 of 44 passes (70%) and creating a chance.

Tactical Insight

The midfield battle could be decisive in this match.

Scunthorpe's Jacob Butterfield was the pivot of their possession game against Harrogate, with six of his nine progressive passes finding a teammate, and he is likely to see plenty of the ball again here.

Sutton's central pairing of Emmanuel Osadebe and Jake Taylor will need to close him down more effectively than they managed defensively at Barrow, where Sutton won only 42% of duels as a team.

In the air, Scunthorpe's striker Danny Whitehall contested 12 aerial duels against Harrogate, winning five, and could be a focal point against a Sutton back line in which Toby Byron won three of his seven aerial contests at Barrow.

How each side fares in these individual battles may well shape the game's territory.

Conclusion

A result here would give the Iron some breathing room from the bottom four in the National League.

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