Colchester United ended an eight-game winless run in all competitions with victory last time out, and they will be aiming to record back-to-back wins in League Two for the first time this season on Saturday, when they welcome Swindon Town to the JobServe Community Stadium.

Swindon currently sit sixth in the table, only one point ahead of eighth-placed Exeter City as the race for a playoff position continues, while Colchester are just six points above the relegation zone, but do have two games in hand on Scunthorpe United.

Match preview

Swindon Town's Harry McKirdy celebrates scoring their first goal on January 7, 2022 © Reuters

Former Colchester centre-back Wayne Brown took charge of his first game as interim manager last weekend, after taking over from Hayden Mullins this month, and the U's have seen an immediate improvement with their first win since November.

Not only did they collect the three points against ninth-placed Salford City on Saturday, they did so convincingly by a three-goal margin and keeping a clean sheet, with the goals coming from Luke Chambers, Myles Kenlock and Corie Andrews.

That has given Brown a good platform to build from and he will know that his side will have to be at their best again this weekend, when they face another side routing for a top-seven finish.

After scoring just one goal in their previous five League Two outings, Colchester have netted five times in their last two games, meaning that the hosts will be looking to entertain their home crowd with some creativity in the attacking third.

Swindon do need to lift their form a little, with just two wins from their last eight domestic matches not the kind of form that will help them retain their position in a playoff spot.

However, they are now unbeaten in their last two games after a 1-1 draw against Bristol Rovers last time out, with a point a piece in that fixture the fair result considering both teams created the same amount of chances.

With two games in hand on third-placed Newport, Ben Garner's side should still be aiming for an automatic promotion spot, which would be a massive achievement for the club considering the position they were in during pre-season.

To even finish in the top seven, let alone the top three, Swindon need to be collecting three points against sides in the lower half of the table, but with a change in management at Colchester, this will not be a simple task for the visitors.

This will be the third meeting between these two teams this season, with Colchester securing a 2-1 win at the County Ground in the EFL Trophy, a month after they had played out a goalless draw in League Two.

Colchester United League Two form:

Colchester United form (all competitions):

Swindon Town League Two form:

Swindon Town form (all competitions):

Team News

Swindon Town coach Ben Garner reacts on January 7, 2022 © Reuters

Colchester midfielder Cole Skuse was forced off after just 25 minutes last time out due to an injury and is likely to be absent again this weekend, which is a big miss for the hosts as he has started all but one of their league matches this season.

Noah Chilvers is expected to start in the middle of the pitch alongside Emyr Huws, while Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu will play slight further forward in the number 10 role, looking to create chances for lone striker Freddie Sears.

Goalkeeper Shamal George made his return to Colchester's starting 11 last time out, having been sidelined since November due to injury, and he will continue between the posts this weekend.

Swindon have signed Charlton Athletic forward Josh Davison on loan for the remainder of this season, and the 22-year-old could make his debut for the club on Saturday.

The visitors will operate in a variation of a 3-1-4-2 formation, with Jake O'Brien, Dion Conroy and Akinwale Joseph Odimayo making up the defensive trio.

Colchester United possible starting lineup:
George; Kenlock, Dallison, Chambers, Tchamadeu; Chilvers, Huws; Judge, Sarpong-Wiredu, Hannant; Sears

Swindon Town possible starting lineup:
Ward; Odimayo, Conroy, O'Brien; Hunt; Iandolo, Williams, Reed, Gladwin; McKirdy, Simpson

SM words green background

We say: Colchester United 1-1 Swindon Town

After such a positive result away from home last weekend, Colchester will be desperate to give their home crowd something to shout about and they could make it difficult for Swindon.

On paper, Swindon should collect three points given their superior league position, but the boost the hosts would have received from last Saturday could play a big role in this weekend's result.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Swindon Town win with a probability of 50.96%. A draw had a probability of 25.2% and a win for Colchester United had a probability of 23.81%.

The most likely scoreline for a Swindon Town win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.52%) and 1-2 (9.45%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.98%), while for a Colchester United win it was 1-0 (7.6%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 12% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.