Shrewsbury vs Exeter Prediction: Visitors are in great form

Shrewsbury Town welcome Exeter City to Croud Meadow on Thursday (20:00, Sky Sports Main Event) in League 1, looking to build on their 5-3 victory over Crawley Town at the weekend. The Shrews ended a run of seven games without a win in the third tier to take a huge three points against another struggling side.

Exeter saw their game with Mansfield Town postponed last week due to international call-ups, but they have won three of their last five in the league and will head to Shropshire in high spirits. Read on for my Shrewsbury vs Exeter prediction, accompanied by the latest match odds and team news.

Shrewsbury vs Exeter Odds

Shrewsbury are 13/8 to win this match, giving them an implied probability of 38.1%. Exeter are 11/8 to take the three points, which gives them a theoretical chance of 42.1%. The draw is marketed at 9/4 (30.8%).

Both teams to score can be backed at 4/5 and over 2.5 goals is on offer at 1/1.

Football Odds

Team News

Shrewsbury are going to miss Jordan Shipley again for this match due to the Achilles injury he picked up against Bolton Wanderers two weeks ago. Leo Castledine has been filling in for him behind the front men and looks set to continue operating in this spot against the Grecians.

Forward Josh Kayode is also going to be absent as he continues to recover from a calf problem.

John Marquis and George Lloyd are set to continue up top after both bagged braces at Crawley last weekend, with the former receiving public praise from manager Paul Hurst after the game.

Exeter's Caleb Watts will continue to serve the suspension he picked up against Leyton Orient at the beginning of the month. Yanic Wildschut remains their long-term injury absentee, while Reece Cole is also in the medical bay with a thigh issue.

Jack Aitchison will be hoping to be included after recently overcoming an injury of his own.

Exeter to win @ 11/8

Exeter will have been disappointed that their momentum was halted with the Mansfield game being postponed, but it shouldn't affect them too much. Gary Caldwell's side sit seventh in the table at this moment in time, and they have been in good form of late.

Yes, Shrewsbury just picked up a huge win but that was against another team who are scrambling at the bottom of the table. Exeter are no such entity right now. The visitors are playing well and getting results to go with it. They are unbeaten in their last five in all competitions, so they are going to be feeling more confident than their hosts.

Exeter are also unbeaten in their last three meetings with Shrewsbury, so this psychological aspect could come into play on Thursday night. The one thing they could improve on is goals as they have only managed to score 10 in nine League 1 appearances so far.

However, this has been helped by their strong defensive record. The Grecians have only conceded six goals in the third tier, and only Wigan Athletic (five) has let in less. Caldwell's defence are tough to play against and the attackers are making sure they are clinical when chances open up at the other end of the pitch. They have also managed to keep clean sheets in their last four League 1 matches.

After a five-goal showing last time out in which their two strikers scored braces, Shrewsbury will be thinking they can put Exeter's defence to the test, but I think the visitors will be able to weather most of what the Shrews can throw at them and take the three points.

Both teams to score @ 4/5

As impressive as Exeter's defenders have been this season, I think their run of five clean sheets in all competitions will come to an end. With Marquis and Lloyd bagging braces last weekend, they will have gained some much-needed confidence ahead of this match.

Both forwards will be key if the Shrews are to avoid relegation this year. After the hosts picked up a huge win at Crawley, they will be hoping that they can push on now and start putting more points on the board.

I do not think they will get any on this occasion, but that doesn't mean to say that they can't make Exeter work for the victory. They are the home side after all, so they will have the backing of the crowd.

After the team scored five goals last week, the squad will be feeling much more confident in front of goal and they could now pose a bigger threat than they did before. It's worth noting that BTTS has been a winning selection in four of their 10 matches in the league this term, and I have a feeling their tally will rise to five on Thursday.

Both teams have also found the back of the net in three of Exeter's nine appearances in League 1 in 2024/25.

Offers

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