Preview: Newport County vs. Plymouth Argyle - prediction, team news, lineups

Plymouth Argyle will travel to Newport County's Rodney Parade stadium on Tuesday for their first match in this season's EFL Trophy.

The pair will be joined in the Southern Group F by League Two's Swindon Town and the Arsenal Under-21s, with the top two progressing to the knockout rounds.

Match preview

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After agonisingly losing out to Morecambe in last year's League Two playoff final, thanks to a controversial 107th-minute penalty, Newport have endured a very mixed start to their latest campaign.

Their first four league games have all come away from home and resulted in two wins and two losses, leaving them in mid-table.

The most recent game saw three Salford City goals in the first half an hour - the opener coming in the first minute - condemn them to a 3-0 loss, as they perhaps continued to feel the effects of their manager's touchline absence.

Michael Flynn tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the month, which also forced him to miss their only other home game of the season, against Southampton in the EFL Cup.

Hopes were high, with the Exiles having upset the odds against Ipswich Town in the previous round, but the match ended in a chastening 8-0 defeat at the hands of the Premier League side. Flynn will be hoping that their second home match ends in a much more positive result.

Despite heading into the new League One season as one of the sides tipped to struggle, Plymouth have got off to a relatively strong start, with a particularly impressive 4-0 dismantling of Championship side Peterborough United in the EFL Cup.

The Pilgrims built on that result upon their return to league action, with two wins and a draw in their next three games, including a 3-0 away win at Shrewsbury Town which featured a brace for Ryan Hardie and Luke Jephcott's fourth goal of the campaign.

The momentum has slowed in the past week, though, with a 4-1 loss to Swansea City in the cup and a 1-1 draw with struggling Fleetwood Town, although Hardie did get on the scoresheet once again.

Nonetheless, Ryan Lowe's men will hold high hopes of starting their EFL Trophy journey off with a win against a side in the league below whom they beat 6-1 in one of their two most recent meetings.

Team News

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Christopher Missilou and Robbie Willmott were hauled off in the first half after Newport's shocking start to the game against Salford and, considering the improved performance thereafter, it seems likely their replacements - Matty Dolan and Timmy Abraham - will move up to the starting XI.

Courtney Senior remains out injured and defender Mickey Demetriou is a doubt for Tuesday's game.

Despite ongoing links to an upwards move, Plymouth's star forward Jephcott remains at the club, and will continue to lead the line with Hardie in a 3-5-2 setup.

Danny Mayor, Niall Ennis and James Bolton are all out injured but defender James Wilson could return to the side, having completed his three-match suspension.

Newport County possible starting lineup:
Day; Farquharson, Clarke, Bennett; Haynes, Norman, Dolan, Upson; Hylton, Abraham; Fisher

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Gillesphey, Scarr, Wilson; Edwards, Camara, Houghton, Broom, Grant; Jephcott, Hardie

We say: Newport County 1-1 Plymouth Argyle

Both sides have blown hot and cold so far this campaign, so this one really could go either way depending on which version of each team shows up. Neither will want to lose the opening game, though, so a draw looks fairly likely.