Morecambe vs Newport: Predictions & Tips
Morecambe and Newport County meet in the League Two playoff final on Monday afternoon having come through two hard-fought semi-final ties.
While Morecambe were able to edge out Tranmere Rovers, their opponents came out on top on aggregate after a memorable second leg with Forest Green Rovers.
Having spent 14 years competing in League Two, Morecambe finally have the opportunity to take what will feel like a giant leap into the third tier of English football.
Morecambe beat Tranmere 3-2 on aggregate in the playoff semi-final. The Shrimps won 2-1 in the first leg and secured their place in the final with a 1-1 draw in the second leg.
The result extended Morecambe’s unbeaten run to four matches in League One.
Newport edged into the League Two playoff final following a 5-4 aggregate win against Forest Green.
The Welsh side had a 2-0 advantage heading into the second leg but lost 4-3 after extra time at the New Lawn Stadium.
They have been hard to beat in the latter stages of the season, losing just two of their last 11.
Morecambe vs Newport Predictions:
- Morecambe have seen BTTS in their last 2 matches (League Two).
- Morecambe are winless in 6 of their last 7 matches against Newport (League Two).
- Morecambe have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 8 matches against Newport (League Two).
- Seven of Morecambe’s 10 clashes with the top six saw BTTS land.
- Morecambe lost nine of 15 away games to the top 16.
- Newport are winless in 6 of their last 10 matches (League Two).
- Newport have seen BTTS in 2 of their last 3 matches (League Two).
- Newport scored in 91% of their away games this term.
Morecambe have a 7-5 advantage against Newport in 16 meetings with four draws.
Tranmere managed to hold them to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of the semi-finals, but Morecambe deserve full credit for seeing out a 3-2 aggregate triumph in front of their returning supporters.
Morecambe have lost each of their last three League Two matches against Newport County, one more than in their first 13 meetings with the Exiles.
For only the second time in the last 13 seasons, the League Two play-off final will be contested by the teams who finished fourth and fifth in the table.
Newport County haven’t won Football League promotion since the 1979-80 season, when they finished third in the fourth tier.
Newport have lost three of their four matches at Wembley, losing to York City in the 2012 FA Trophy final, Spurs in an FA Cup replay in February 2018 and Tranmere in May 2019 in the League Two play-off final.
We have faith that these two will shake any nerves ahead of this game and continue their good form in front of goal. Newport only made it here after a 4-3 loss in extra-time at Forest Green in the semis, while they conceded over a goal per game on the road in the regular season.
Having encountered less stress in the semi-finals, many will be tipping Morecambe to have the edge in this contest. However, we feel that Newport have more momentum, something which could make all the difference at the crucial stages on Monday.
Our prediction: Newport win @ 2.66
