MATCH PREVIEW | Swindon Town vs Morecambe F.C.

Swindon will hope to continue their charge up the table with a trip away to Morecambe.

The unbeaten start to the season continued with a 2-0 victory over Walsall, the win was hard-fought with goals in the 2nd and 88th minutes giving the Robins a vital win that saw them move into the automatic promotion spots. 

Town sits just three points behind Gillingham with a far superior goal difference. Winning games is essential and a win at Morecambe would make it three wins in a row for Swindon. 

With Rushian Hepburn-Murphy once again having a massive impact from the bench, is it time to start trying to find a way to get him into the starting eleven?

The Hepburn-Murphy problem

The last two games have seen Hepburn-Murphy replacing Charlie Austin in the left-sided striker role. In those two appearances from the bench, he played 48 minutes and scored 2 goals as well as getting an assist. 

Hepburn-Murphy has played all across the front line, but this left-sided role seems to working with him being able to break lines and find the ball in behind defences. Austin had gone on a short-goal drought that was resolved with his header against Walsall, perhaps had the run continued Hepburn-Murphy may have gotten a chance. 

For now, it looks like Hepburn-Murphy will continue to be an amazing choice off of the bench against tired legs. But given the chance to play a full 90 in his newfound role, he may start to go to another level. 

In terms of it being a problem, it isn't one, having quality options off of the bench has been the method to kill games this season. However, should this amazing run of form continue he may give Michael Flynn a headache in terms of team selection.

Opposition Analysis

Morecambe has not had the start to the season they would have imagined. Last season saw them relegated from League One, they missed out on survival by just two points and have had a difficult start to life in League Two. 

Having played seven games so far the Shrimps have won three, lost three and drawn one. They sit 16th in the table, but despite being so low, when you look at their home form they currently have the third-best record having yet to lose a game at home. The only teams with better home records are Crawley Town and Swindon. 

The Shrimps have only conceded one goal at home, the joint lowest in the league, so the in-form Swindon attack may have a task on their hands to break down the Morecambe defence. 

Morecambe have only scored seven goals this season with Michael Mellon netting four of those goals, but the forward will be suspended for Saturday's fixture, a big blow for the hosts. 

Head-to-Head

Swindon and Morecambe have faced off seven times and it has typically been a one-sided affair. The sides have only drawn once and Swindon have won on the six other times the two met. 

The most recent match between the two was in 2019 where Swindon won 3-1. With there being a long period of time since the sides last met, the past results may not hold as much merit due to the two not often being in the same league.

Swindon League Form:
D W D W W

Morecambe League Form:
D W L W L

Match Prediction:

Our prediction is that Swindon will win but that we are in for another closely fought game, with Morecambe's home record being one of the best in the league, Swindon will need to be on top form to score. 

The match will be low-scoring but likely similar to Walsall where the midfield battle may decide the game.

Swindon Town 2-1 Morecambe FC