Radcliffe vs Scarborough Athletic Prediction

Radcliffe have been battered in recent weeks, and Scarborough Athletic are walking into this fixture on the back of an unbeaten run that looks set to keep rolling. The numbers tell a clear story, and I'm not one to pretend otherwise.

Radcliffe's last three matches have been a disaster: a 4–1 defeat at Hednesford Town on 26 September, a 3–2 loss to Marine in the FA Cup on 19 September, and a 0–3 home defeat to Oxford City on 12 September. In those three games they scored 3 and conceded 10. Over their latest 10 matches across all venues, the record is 2 wins, 0 draws and 8 losses, with 21 goals conceded at 2.1 per game and not a single clean sheet. At home over 20 games, the record is 7 wins, 3 draws and 10 losses, with 2.05 goals conceded per game. That is a side that is leaking goals and struggling to find a winning formula.

Scarborough Athletic, by contrast, have not lost in their last five matches. They drew 1–1 with Macclesfield at home in the FA Cup on 6 October, drew 2–2 at Macclesfield on 3 October, drew 1–1 at Brackley Town on 26 September, and beat Dunston UTS 2–0 on 19 September. In those five games they scored 6 and conceded 4, keeping two clean sheets. Their away record over 20 games is 7 wins, 6 draws and 7 losses, with 1.5 goals conceded per game and 1.55 scored per game. That is a side that is organised, compact and hard to break down on the road.

The head-to-head at Radcliffe's ground in the recent period is telling. On 27 January 2026, Scarborough Athletic won 4–1 here. The meeting before that, on 16 December 2025 at Scarborough's ground, went the other way with Radcliffe winning 3–0. So in the last two meetings between these sides, each team has won once, but the most recent one at this venue went to the visitors. The older meetings at this ground — a 3–3 draw in August 2024 — are historical and don't carry the same weight.

The counter-argument is that Radcliffe do have a home record that includes 7 wins in 20 games, and they did beat Scarborough 3–0 in December. Football is unpredictable, and a side that has lost three in a row can always bounce back. The draw is also a live possibility given Scarborough's recent tendency to draw rather than win — four of their last five matches ended level. But when you look at the defensive disparity — 1.5 conceded per game away for Scarborough versus 2.05 per game at home for Radcliffe — the gap is hard to bridge.

Key Points:

• Radcliffe lost their last three matches, scoring 3 and conceding 10 in the process

• Scarborough Athletic are unbeaten in their last five, with four draws and one win

• Scarborough won the most recent meeting at Radcliffe's ground, 4–1 in January 2026

• Scarborough's away defence (1.5 conceded per game over 20 games) is significantly tighter than Radcliffe's home defence (2.05 per game)

• Radcliffe's latest 10 across all venues: 2 wins, 0 draws, 8 losses

The numbers point one way, and the form gap is hard to ignore. I'm backing the away win.