Exeter City vs Burton Albion preview

Exeter City are back in pre-season action as Paul Tisdale’s side welcome Burton Albion to St James Park.

The Sky Bet League Two club are currently fine-tuning their preparations for the season, which kicks off with a long trip to Blackpool on August 3, and the Grecians go into this warm up tie following four consecutive pre-season wins.

The club have just returned from a short spell in Cornwall, which featured two victories over Bodmin Town and Truro City, but will now take on a Burton Albion side who are currently preparing for a season in the Championship.

The Grecians victory over Truro, which saw new signing Liam McAlinden score his first goal for the club as he gave the Grecians a 2-1 victory, took place just one day before this encounter.

With that in mind, Tisdale will look to make major changes to the side and we could expect to see a team similar to the side which may face Blackpool on the opening day.

In what should prove a tough encounter for the south west club, Tisdale’s men will be eager to test themselves against a strong opponent who have won three consecutive warm-up matches, most notably a 3-0 win over Stoke City last Saturday.

Nigel Clough’s men were promoted to English football’s second tier after coming second in Sky Bet League One behind Wigan Athletic last season.

As the Brewers prepare for a season which will see them take on English footballing giants like Newcastle United and Aston Villa, they travel to the south west knowing that the Grecians will pose a strong threat, as Clough’s men ready their squad for their respective campaign.

The two sides have met on six previous occasions, all of which occurred in League Two, with the most recent clash a 1-1 draw in December 2014, Christian Ribeiro notching a late equaliser at St James Park.

City’s only win against the Brewers came on their first encounter as the Grecians swept to a 3-0 home win in 2012.

Of course this match will not see either side take any points after 90 minutes, but whoever walks away on top will take good confidence as they go into the season curtain raiser in just over two weeks’ time.