Colchester United vs Exeter City. Sky Bet League Two Play-Offs Semi-Final.
JobServe Community Stadium.
Watch live on Sky Sports Football from 5pm on Thursday; kick-off is at 5.15pm
Thursday 18 June 2020 16:21, UK
Colchester face Exeter in the Sky Bet League Two play-off semi-final first leg on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Football.
With 104 days between the last round of League Two fixtures and the play-off semi-final first leg, recent form will count for little in the battle to reach League One. However, prior to football's suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic in March, Colchester ran out 3-0 winners away to Carlisle, while Exeter fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Walsall.
Competing in the Sky Bet League Two play-offs will cost Exeter around £150,000 even factoring in television money, the club's chairman has said.
Colchester have only won one of their last nine matches against Exeter in all competitions (W1 D4 L4), although both meetings this season ended level.
The home side is unbeaten in each of the last seven matches between Colchester and Exeter (W4 D3) since the Grecians' 3-2 away win in September 2016.
The team finishing in fifth place in League Two has only been promoted via the play-offs in one of the last 10 seasons, with Phil Brown's Southend going up in 2014-15.
The last two teams to win promotion from the League Two play-offs ended the season in sixth place, with Tranmere going up in 2018-19 and Coventry doing so in 2017-18.
This will be Colchester's first play-off campaign since the 1997-98 season in which they were promoted from the fourth-tier, courtesy of a 1-0 win against Tranmere in the final. Prior to 1997-98, they had failed to win promotion in two previous play-off attempts (1986-87 and 1995-96).
Exeter will compete in the League Two play-offs for the third time in the last four campaigns, however, they lost the final in both 2016-17 (1-2 vs Blackpool) and 2017-18 (1-3 vs Coventry).
No player in League Two has provided more assists in 2019-20 than Exeter's Randell Williams (14), with the winger also netting five goals: both career season-highs.
It is fair to say that all the clubs in the play-offs in League One and Two this season have found themselves in a unique position in the history of football. Colchester and Exeter now have to play two massive legs of football in just a few days having not played a game for over three months.
The first legs of ties are usually quite tentative affairs, with neither side wanting to throw it away too early on. I'll go for a draw here.
David Prutton predicts: 1-1 (9/2 with Sky Bet)
