Salford City arrive on 17 October with wins and clean sheets behind them, while Crawley Town are still looking for a recent win. Barnet bring a proper scoring burst to Tranmere, Oldham have been scratching for goals, and Bristol Rovers’ run has offered very little middle ground. Across the card, the fun is in the contrasts rather than the league table alone.
Fleetwood Town v Rotherham
Fleetwood Town’s 1-1 draw with Walsall at least stopped the run of defeats, but it did not bring a first win in five. They have scored four times in that spell and conceded eight, so even the better afternoons have come with a bit of firefighting attached.
Rotherham make the trip after a 4-1 loss to Gillingham, their second defeat in a row after previously edging Northampton and drawing with Crewe. With one league point between these two, the interest is simple: two sides close together, both trying to turn goals into something sturdier.
17 October
 Fleetwood Town | 16 in league · 11 points · 2 points from last 5 |
 Rotherham | 20 in league · 10 points · 5 points from last 5 |
Shrewsbury v Bristol Rovers
Bristol Rovers’ 3-1 loss to Barnet summed up a run with no draws to soften the edges: one win, four defeats. They have scored just three times in those five matches and conceded 11, so the away day at Shrewsbury carries a sharp goals-against angle.
Shrewsbury had scored in each of their previous four before Exeter City beat them 1-0. Their mix is different — two wins, two draws and one defeat — and that makes this a meeting between Bristol Rovers’ all-or-nothing stretch and a Shrewsbury side that has usually stayed in games.
17 October
 Shrewsbury | 18 in league · 11 points · 8 points from last 5 |
 Bristol Rovers | 9 in league · 15 points · 3 points from last 5 |
Oldham v Cheltenham
Oldham’s 0-0 with Accrington ST was a clean sheet, but it also came with no shots on target. That sits inside a five-game run of two goals and three blanks, which gives this fixture its lower-table bite without needing any extra drama.
Cheltenham arrive after back-to-back 2-0 defeats to Accrington ST and Salford City. They had scored six across the three games before that, so the contrast is clear: Oldham are trying to find goals at all, while Cheltenham are trying to restart a scoring run that has gone quiet.
17 October
 Oldham | 21 in league · 8 points · 1 points from last 5 |
 Cheltenham | 8 in league · 15 points · 7 points from last 5 |
Accrington ST v Gillingham
Accrington ST have made the last two games about clean sheets: 2-0 against Cheltenham, then 0-0 against Oldham. The wider five-match run is not flashy, with one win and three draws, but only three goals conceded is a useful base.
Gillingham bring the noisier result, a 4-1 win over Rotherham after a goalless draw with Newport County. They have three wins in five and three clean sheets too, so this pairs Accrington’s recent shut-outs with Gillingham’s ability to jump from blank to burst.
17 October
 Accrington ST | 15 in league · 11 points · 6 points from last 5 |
 Gillingham | 4 in league · 16 points · 10 points from last 5 |
Swindon Town v Walsall
Walsall’s 1-1 with Fleetwood Town kept them unbeaten across five, though four of those matches have been draws. They have conceded only twice in that spell, so the issue has not been staying in games; it has been turning enough of them into wins.
Swindon Town offer the opposite kind of problem. Their 1-0 loss to Crewe was a fourth blank in five matches, with only one goal across the run. Walsall’s tight games meet a Swindon side currently short of scoring punch.
17 October
 Swindon Town | 17 in league · 11 points · 1 points from last 5 |
 Walsall | 6 in league · 15 points · 7 points from last 5 |
Crewe v Rochdale
Crewe’s 1-0 win over Swindon Town was their second victory in a row after three straight 1-1 draws. They are unbeaten in five, but the route there has been patient rather than explosive, with seven goals scored and four conceded.
Rochdale are unbeaten too, and their version includes three wins before a 1-1 draw with Tranmere. They have conceded only twice in five. Crewe bring the steadier climb; Rochdale bring the cleaner defensive record and a habit of keeping opponents to one or none.
17 October
 Crewe | 3 in league · 18 points · 9 points from last 5 |
 Rochdale | 10 in league · 14 points · 11 points from last 5 |
Tranmere v Barnet
Barnet have scored three in each of their last two wins, beating Fleetwood Town and Bristol Rovers by the same 3-1 score. Across five matches they have 12 goals and no blanks, which gives their trip to Tranmere an obvious attacking pull.
Tranmere’s latest was a 1-1 draw with Rochdale, one of three draws in a five-game spell without a win. They have conceded eight in that run, including four against Chesterfield, so Barnet’s scoring burst meets a side that has had too many busy defensive afternoons.
17 October
 Tranmere | 13 in league · 12 points · 3 points from last 5 |
 Barnet | 2 in league · 18 points · 11 points from last 5 |
Port Vale v Chesterfield
Port Vale’s 1-0 win over Grimsby was their second victory in five, with no draws anywhere in the sequence. The margins have often been narrow, but the results have been cleanly split: win or lose, nothing in between.
Chesterfield come in with a broader scoring spread. Their 2-2 draw with Crawley Town followed a 4-2 win over Tranmere, and they have not blanked in five. Port Vale’s stop-start run now meets a Chesterfield side that keeps finding the net.
17 October
 Port Vale | 22 in league · 8 points · 6 points from last 5 |
 Chesterfield | 7 in league · 15 points · 10 points from last 5 |
Grimsby v Northampton
Grimsby began this five-game stretch with two wins and two clean sheets, then lost the next three. The latest, a 1-0 defeat to Port Vale, was also their first blank in the run, so the early sharpness has given way to a more awkward run.
Northampton’s 1-1 draw with York was a useful point after two defeats, but they have scored only three times in five. With Grimsby’s results refusing to settle and Northampton mixing draws with narrow scorelines, this one has two sides searching for rhythm.
17 October
 Grimsby | 11 in league · 13 points · 6 points from last 5 |
 Northampton | 23 in league · 7 points · 5 points from last 5 |
Colchester v Exeter City
Exeter City have won their last two 1-0, against Rotherham and Shrewsbury, after three games without scoring. That makes just two goals in five, but also three clean sheets, so their recent football has been low-scoring in both directions.
Colchester’s latest was a 1-0 loss to Newport County, ending a run of three straight scoring draws. They have conceded eight in five and kept no clean sheets, which sets up an interesting clash with an Exeter side currently making single goals go a long way.
17 October
 Colchester | 19 in league · 10 points · 3 points from last 5 |
 Exeter City | 14 in league · 12 points · 7 points from last 5 |
Salford City v Crawley Town
Salford City’s 2-0 win over Cheltenham extended a run of four wins and a draw, with clean sheets in the last two. They have scored 11 across five and conceded four, which explains why this home fixture has such a clear top-end pull.
Crawley Town’s 2-2 draw with Chesterfield at least brought goals, but not a win. They have two draws and three defeats in five, conceding 11. Salford bring the clean sheets and wins; Crawley bring a recent reminder that they can still score.
17 October
 Salford City | 1 in league · 19 points · 13 points from last 5 |
 Crawley Town | 24 in league · 5 points · 2 points from last 5 |
Newport County v York
Newport County’s 1-0 win over Colchester made it two clean sheets in a row and kept their five-game unbeaten run intact. It has not been all wins — three of the five were draws — but only two goals conceded is doing plenty of work.
York’s 1-1 with Northampton followed bigger attacking days against Swindon Town and Gillingham. They have scored nine in five, despite one blank in the defeat to Chesterfield. Newport’s clean-sheet run and York’s heavier scoring spells make this one well worth a look.
17 October
 Newport County | 12 in league · 13 points · 9 points from last 5 |
 York | 5 in league · 15 points · 8 points from last 5 |
Over to you
Your verdict
On 17 October, would you rather follow Crewe v Rochdale’s unbeaten meeting or Salford City v Crawley Town’s top-versus-bottom contrast?
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