Cheltenham v Exeter preview

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Cheltenham will be without defender Troy Brown as they look to climb out of the relegation zone when Exeter visit.

The centre-back picked up his 10th yellow card of the campaign in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Portsmouth and will now serve the first of his two-game suspension against Paul Tisdale’s troops.

But there is better news for Russell Milton with two of their star performers recently, Will Packwood and Wes Burns, likely to be given the green light to feature after recent knocks.

Captain Matt Taylor was just a substitute versus Pompey but is likely to be given the nod in Brown’s absence.

Exeter look set to be without their two experienced left-backs.

Jamie McAllister and Craig Woodman have missed City’s last two matches with hamstring injuries and Connor Riley-Lowe is on standby to make his third successive start if neither are available.

Winger Lee Holmes made a lively debut from the bench in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Stevenage and the Preston loanee could be thrown into the starting line-up at Whaddon Road.

The Grecians remain without long-term injury victim Pat Baldwin while David Noble’s hamstring problem rules him out once more.

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Cheltenham v Exeter preview

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Exeter boss Paul Tisdale is set to shuffle his pack for the trip to Cheltenham as they look for their first Boxing Day win since 2007.

The Grecians, who suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Chesterfield on Friday night, look likely to recall influential playmaker Alan Gow and creative midfielder Matt Grimes, who both had to make do with substitute appearances against the League Two leaders.

But Tisdale remains without captain Danny Coles, who has undergone a knee operation, and midfielder Matt Oakley, who is targeting a February return from his ankle injury.

City lost both meetings against the Robins last season.

Cheltenham will be without defender Steve Elliott for the visit of Exeter.

The experienced centre-back has been ruled out for the Christmas period with an ankle injury which kept him out of their impressive 2-0 win over Fleetwood on Saturday.

It means Connor Goldson looks likely to retain his place having made his first start last weekend since signing on loan from Shrewsbury.

Mark Yates’ squad, who will be given Christmas Day off in the build-up to kick-off, will include young midfielder Kemar Roofe after the West Brom loanee returned to training with his Robins team-mates on Monday.

Cheltenham v Exeter preview

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Cheltenham midfielder Darren Carter’s fitness will be assessed ahead of the game.

The former Birmingham man was withdrawn with a calf injury as a precautionary measure in the Robins’ 2-1 victory over Plymouth on Tuesday and is a doubt for the first meeting between the sides since 2002.

The Robins moved quickly to bring in midfield cover for Carter on Thursday with Reading youngster Lawson D’Ath joining on an initial one month loan.

Midfielder Russ Penn and right-back Sido Jombati will both miss the match against Paul Tisdale’s off-form Grecians after they both picked up their fifth cautions of the season on Tuesday. They are likely to be replaced by Sam Deering and Keith Lowe.

If goalkeeper Scott Brown lines up at Whaddon Road it will be his 200th start for Cheltenham.

Exeter boss Paul Tisdale is unlikely to make any significant changes to his squad.

After a below-par first half at Dagenham on Tuesday the Grecians improved significantly after the interval and grabbed a point thanks to Jamie Cureton’s 10th goal of the season.

Cureton’s regular strike partner Alan Gow made a welcome return to action as a 74th-minute substitute and will be hoping to get more minutes under his belt against a side that includes former City team-mate Billy Jones.

Captain Danny Coles, who signed a new contract on Thursday, was paired with Scot Bennett in the centre of defence on Tuesday for the first time this season with Pat Baldwin dropping to the bench.