Notts County vs Alfreton Town Prediction: Magpies to hit in both halves

Notts County welcome Derbyshire outfit Alfreton Town to Meadow Lane in the FA Cup first round on Friday night (19:45), looking to build on their four-game unbeaten run in League 2.

The Magpies were 1-0 winners over Harrogate Town last time out to keep them on the heels of leaders Port Vale. Alfreton are seventh in the National League North, and they will be looking to cause an upset in Nottinghamshire. Read on for my Notts County vs Alfreton Town prediction, accompanied by the latest match odds and team news.

Notts County vs Alfreton Town Odds

Notts County are 4/11 to win this tie in 90 minutes, which gives them a theoretical chance of 73.3%. Alfreton Town are valued at 6/1 to pull off the upset in regulation time, giving them an implied probability of 14.3%. If you think this fixture will go to extra time, the draw can be backed at 16/5 (23.8%).

The hosts are 1/6 to win the tie, while Alfreton are priced at 7/2 to emerge victorious.

Both teams to score is available at 5/6 and over 2.5 goals is on offer at 4/6.

Football Odds

Team News

The hosts are missing last year's League 2 Player of the Season Jodi Jones due to a fracture to his tibia, and he is not expected back until the second half of the campaign.

Boss Stuart Maynard could opt to rest some of his key players for this clash and hand some valuable game time to some of his fringe players. Summer arrival Jevani Brown could be in line to replace the club's joint-top scorer Alassana Jatta up front, while fellow leading marksman David McGoldrick could also be taken out of the starting XI.

Maynard may even opt to keep one of them in so that there is at least one reliable goalscorer on the pitch for this cup tie. Creative midfielder Dan Crowley could also be handed a break from action, but we could see him kept in the squad in case he is needed to have an impact if things are not going their way at Meadow Lane.

The likes of Rod McDonald, Nick Tsaroulla, Sam Austin and Sam Slocombe will all be pushing to start, with the latter most likely to get the nod as the side's cup goalkeeper.

Alfreton have no fresh injury concerns heading into this one, but boss Billy Heath isn't expected to make too many changes to his side as he will feel that the best chance they have of winning this tie is by going full strength.

Over 2.5 goals @ 4/6

Despite being third in League 2, Notts County have not been involved in too many goal-filled clashes this season. The Magpies have only seen over 2.5 goals land in five of their 14 matches, with just two of them coming at Meadow Lane.

Yet, they are amongst the highest scorers in the division with 22. They certainly have a lot of quality in attack with the likes of Jatta, McGoldrick and Crowley, but it remains to be seen if they will be left in from the start.

Even Brown would have the ability to have an impact in this contest if he is named the starting striker for Friday night. There are two divisions between them and Alfreton Town, so the level of quality that they have should shine through when these two sides collide.

The visitors have been doing well in their own league, and they have scored 18 goals in their first 13 matches. They have seen at least three goals scored in six of their fixtures so far, and with them coming up against a side two levels above them, they will need to be clinical with the chances they do create in NG2.

Notts County have looked shaky defensively at times this term and I think we could see Alfreton exploit that. The pressure will be on the hosts, so this could work in the visitors' favour and help them get on the scoresheet at Meadow Lane.

Notts County to score in both halves @ 11/10

Seeing as there isn't much value to be had in backing the hosts to win this match or tie, I've gone creative with my second selection. There have been five occasions in League 2 this campaign in which Notts County have found the back of the net in both halves, so I feel this market could be worth backing in this FA Cup clash.

They are coming up against a side that are two divisions beneath them and so the onus will be on them to dictate the tempo of the match, which I am expecting them to do. They have plenty of attacking players to have an impact, and if we do see some of the key players dropped to the bench on Friday, they could come on to have an impact in the second half, which will only boost their chances of finding the back of the net.

The likes of Jatta and McGoldrick will be hoping for some kind of run out, however small, against Alfreton because they will want to keep their momentum up for when they return to league action next week. So I wouldn't be surprised to see either of them on the scoresheet in this one given the form that they are in.

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