Exeter vs Rochdale - Match Preview

Photo: Jon Coluccio

Nathan Stanton will miss Saturday's game through suspension.

Rochdale manager Keith Hill is hoping to turn draws into wins over the Christmas period, starting with this Saturday's long trip to Exeter.

Dale are unbeaten in ten league games but have drawn three of their last four, and the Dale boss said after Saturday's 1-1 tie with Bournemouth that it was a case of two points lost for his side.

"We are in a good position still and we have not been beaten again and that is the real positive.

"In the grand scheme of things if we can keep picking up points and turn some of those points into victories then ultimately we will be successful and that is what we have managed to do over the course of the season.

"We have managed to turn a sequence of draws into successes and that is what we will be looking to do again, starting at Exeter on Saturday."

If Hill's men are to come away from St James' Park with all three points on Saturday then they will have done so without star defender Nathan Stanton, who picked up his fifth booking of the season against Bournemouth and faces a one game suspension. Rory McArdle will partner Marcus Holness at the centre of the Dale defence as he makes a timely return from a one match ban himself.

Other than that Dale are likely to remain unchanged, with the game coming too soon for injured trio Gary Jones, Scott Wiseman and Lee Thorpe and while Chris Dagnall, Jon Shaw and Joe Thompson are all pushing for a starting place they are likely to begin the game on the substitutes' bench.