Edinburgh City v Clyde: Meadowbank meets Clyde's travel problem
Barrie Moran previews Edinburgh City against Clyde in League Two, where home sobriety meets an away side whose recent wins have all come at home.
By Barrie Moran,
Clyde arrive at Meadowbank with the better recent form. Three wins from their last five against one for Edinburgh City, and eleven goals scored to City's four. On the face of it that settles things. Look at where those wins came from, though, and the picture changes.
Clyde's wins have all come at home
All three of Clyde's recent victories were at home: 3-2 against Spartans, 4-1 against Annan Athletic and 2-1 against Dumbarton. Their two away trips in that run produced a 0-0 at Stranraer and a 6-2 defeat at Elgin City. That is a small sample, but it is the detail that matters for Saturday. Clyde score freely at home. Away from it, in this stretch, they have either not scored at all or conceded six.
Those eleven goals for come with ten against and a single clean sheet. Clyde's matches tend to be open, and the Elgin result shows what that can cost them.
Edinburgh City rarely lose and rarely score
City's last five are D W D L D. Four goals scored, five conceded, two clean sheets. Both clean sheets were goalless away draws, at Stranraer and Elgin City, and the Forfar Athletic trip last week finished 1-1. Away from home they have been very hard to beat.
At Meadowbank the record is mixed. They beat Dumbarton 2-1 but lost 3-1 to Spartans, the heaviest defeat in their run. So the side Clyde face is stubborn but not especially comfortable at home.
The common opponents
The two clubs have played four of the same teams recently, and the comparison is revealing. Against Dumbarton both won 2-1 at home. At Stranraer both drew 0-0. Clyde beat Spartans 3-2 where City lost 3-1 to them. Elgin City is the real divider: City drew 0-0 there, Clyde lost 6-2.
Over those four matches City scored three and conceded four. Clyde scored seven and conceded nine. Clyde create more and give away more. City keep matches tight and struggle to win them.
The only meeting this season
The one meeting so far was on 5 September, when Clyde won 3-2 at home. That is one match, played on Clyde's ground, so I would not lean on it heavily. It does suggest City can score against Clyde, which is more than they have managed against most sides lately.
Verdict
My view is a draw. City's away results show they can frustrate a side, and Clyde's away form in this run has been either goalless or poor. City's home record is not strong enough to make them favourites, and their scoring rate is too low to expect much. Clyde's home form is excellent, but this is not a home match.
What would change my mind is evidence that Clyde travel better than the Stranraer and Elgin trips suggest. If they score early and the game opens up, their record says they are the likelier side to win it. If it stays tight, City have spent the autumn showing how to keep it that way.