Tranmere Rovers preview

 After the disappointment of the 1st defeat of the season last weekend away to Mansfield attentions turn to promotion chasing Tranmere rovers at Prenton Park.

Tranmere are familiar opponents to the port as it was them who dramatically beat us in the 2019 play off final at wembley. Don't expect many goals in the game as the past 5 games have either been won by the odd goal or have finished 0-0. Neither Tranmere or Newport have had the better of this fixture in the recent past with the draw being the most popular result. In the past 7 meetings between the two both Newport and Tranmere have 2 wins a piece and 3 draws.

Tranmere have reverted back to tried and trusted as they brought former back to back promotion winning  manager Mickey Melon back to the club after his not so successful spell in charge of Dundee United up in Scotland. Tranmere have made a good start to the season. They are currently unbeaten in the league with a win over Walsall and 2 draws against Swindon and Port vale respectively. This leaves them 7th in the early season table.

County's first defeat of the season last weekend away at Mansfield was a very close affair with both teams very evenly matched in terms of possession, shots and shots on target. Even though we lost, this could be seen as a really good performance as Mansfield are one of the favorites for automatic promotion this season and they've started off that way. Mickey Demetriou and Matty Dolan could return for County this weekend and this would be a welcome return for the team. They're a few selection headaches for Manager Michael Flynn with the 2 striker spots and the 3 in midfield all up for grabs.

This is a big week for the club as in midweek premier league Southampton visit a full capacity Rodney Parade in the league cup. p.s preview on the way for that one. This will be the first game at Rodney parade this season and the first time we have a full capacity since the start of the pandemic.

Overall I think County will win 1-0. This is my personal opinion let me know what you think in the comments below! Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county                

mansfield town preview

 After another famous cup upset in mid week attentions turn back to the league as we travel to the one call stadium to take on Mansfield town. 

County and mansfield have recent history especially at the start of the season with county facing mansfield twice on the opening day 2 out of the past 4 seasons. We also faced off in the 2018-19 sky bet league 2 play off semi final in which County won via the dreaded penalty shootout. 

Mansfield have had the better of county recently with Mansfield winning 9 out of the past 18 games with county winning 3 and 6 draws. We have a rotten record at the One call stadium, we haven't won in 90 minutes since 2012. Mansfield have had a mixed start to the season. They won their opening league game 2-1 against Bristol Rovers but lost mid week 3-0 against Preston in the league cup. Conceding 4 goals in 2 games must fill county with optimism of a few goals tomorrow. Their manager is Nigel Clough, son of legendary manager Brian Clough. This was a huge surprise as Clough had always managed clubs at a higher level than league 2 and has vast experience coaching at championship level.  

 Newport have been good starters in the league. We've been in and around the top 3 at the start of the season in every season since Michael Flynn took over in 2017 and after opening back to back wins and clean sheets it looks like this season will be no different.

I fully expect Flynny to make a whole number of changes from the team the beat Ipswich in midweek with 11 changes made for that game. However I don't think that there will be 11 changed again with some impressive performances in that game with Timmy Abraham and Jordan Greenidge linking up well up top and Finn Azaz impressing just behind those 2. 

Overall I think county will win 2-0. This is my personal opinion let me know what you think in the comments below! Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county    

 

 

 

 

Ipswich town preview

The 2020-21 carabao cup turned out to be historic as Newport county reached the last 16 of the competition for the first time in their history and now we look go progress even further as we travel up to Portman road to take on League one promotion favorites Ipswich town. 

Like Newport, Ipswich have also gone through major change this summer, 14 new signings have come in so far this summer with the likes of Louie Barry, who scored against Liverpool for a covid hit Aston villa side in the Fa cup 3rd round back in January. They've also acquired the likes of Conor Chaplin and county academy graduate Lee Evans. Ipswich drew they're opening game of the season 2-2 with Newport's conqueror in the play off final, Morecambe. 

County are looking to keep up they're famous cup record over the past few years in both this competition and the Fa cup. In this specific competition county have got to the 2nd round at the minimum in each of the past 5 seasons but only once in that time have we managed to get past round 2 and that was last season. 

 Newport will look to give out some more first team debuts in this game with 7 players still waiting for their first team debut for the club. A bunch of new players features in the opening day win against oldham with Ed Upson and James Clarke catching the eye. In my opinion county should make a few changes to the line up that played against oldham but the players we bring in wont look out of place because we truly have strength in depth with 2 or 3 of similar quality.

County will look to build momentum heading into the very tricky away trips coming up due to the pitch at Rodney parade being relayed. Due to this look back in amber will be back after the first home game whenever that might be. 

Overall I think county will win 2-1. This is my personal opinion let me know what you think in the comments below! Also don't forget to follow us on twitter @Absoutecounty and on Instagram @absolutely_county