Heading into the second week of this season, Sutton United face Solihull Moors, with both teams opening their season with a 2-2 draw. The U’s will be aiming for their first win of the season in their first home match.
With only one competitive match played so far, Andy’s Bet Club’s football analyst will focus on Solihull Moors’ opening league game against Forest Green Rovers and what the statistics from that match may indicate for Saturday’s match.
The biggest factor in this game was the red card given to Solihull’s Darius Lipsiuc in the 6th minute, changing the tactics of both teams for the remainder of the match.
Forest Green dominated the ball with 74.5% possession, having extended periods of time on the ball without pressure from Solihull, averaging 5.6 passes per possession.
Mainly as a result of their limited time on the ball, Solihull allowed 25 shots, only 8 of which came from outside the box, indicating how deep their defensive line was positioned.
With limited possession, Solihull relied heavily on long balls, playing 48 in total to relieve pressure on their defence and initiate quick counterattacks. This direct approach helped create 7 crossing opportunities, 3 of which were completed for a 43% success rate.
This proved decisive as both of their goals came from these crosses. They were also highly clinical in these situations, scoring twice despite generating only 0.26 xG across the match.
Final Thoughts:
The early red card makes it difficult to draw many meaningful insights from this match, but some patterns can be used to get some indication as to how they might play on Saturday.
Crossing is likely to be a threat in Solihull’s attack. Despite their low aerial win rate, they have good crossing accuracy and have proven to be clinical from these chances.
This could play into Sutton’s favour, as against York City, they were able to restrict their crossing accuracy to just 22%. Despite the red card, Solihull do not appear to be an overly aggressive side, committing only 7 other fouls and receiving 2 yellow cards, so Sutton are unlikely to face significant disciplinary issues from their opponents.
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Photo Credit: Paul Loughlin
