Photo Credit: Dan Haswell // Scunthorpe United Football Club
Scunthorpe United will be pleased with their perfect start to the National League season, recording two wins from two against Woking and Tamworth. However, Sutton have drawn both of their opening games at the time of writing, with an away trip to Forest Green still to come in midweek.
Scunthorpe’s scheduled fixture against Morecambe was postponed due to the club’s ownership issues, which means they could go into Saturday’s match with the advantage of fresher legs.
Andy’s Bet Club’s football analyst will take a closer look at Scunthorpe United’s latest match against Woking to see what the statistics suggest about their likely approach against Sutton United.
Scunthorpe United v Woking
This was a mixed match in terms of the major statistics, with Scunthorpe dominating the shooting numbers while Woking controlled possession.
Scunthorpe’s shooting efficiency was likely down to their ability to get close to goal before pulling the trigger, with an average shot distance of just 15.6 metres.
They created high-quality opportunities by getting into the penalty area 23 times compared to Woking’s 11. A key factor to getting these touches was their willingness to play longer, riskier passes, reflected in their lower pass accuracy of 70% and an average pass length of 24 metres.
Defensively, despite having more of the ball, Woking still came out on top in most defensive categories, recording more duels, clearances, and recoveries. Scunthorpe struggled in these areas, winning just 63% of their duels and only 40% of their aerial battles.
Photo Credit: Dan Haswell // Scunthorpe United Football Club
Final Thoughts:
With both teams averaging under 50% possession this season, it is difficult to predict who will control the majority of the ball, but it is likely to be pretty even.
With this expected increase in possession, Sutton may also enjoy more time on the ball than usual, as Scunthorpe have allowed an average of 3.4 passes per possession compared to the 2.7 Sutton’s opponents have managed so far.
Both sides have been weak in the air, with Scunthorpe winning just 41% of aerial duels compared to Sutton’s 39%. This could make set pieces and second balls a key factor.
Sutton might look to press Scunthorpe high, as they have done at times this season, averaging 14.5 recoveries in the attacking third per game. They will likely need to increase that number to make a noticeable impact.
This could test Scunthorpe’s defence, who have not faced much high pressing so far, with Woking winning the ball back only 11 times in this area.
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