Exeter v Morecambe preview

Team news for Saturday's League Two clash between Exeter City and Morecambe at St James Park.

Exeter manager Paul Tisdale hopes to welcome back striker Alan Gow into the starting line-up for their league opener at home. Gow, who limped out of the warm up in the Grecians' final pre-season friendly was only fit for a substitute's role during Tuesday's League Cup defeat to Crystal Palace. Defender Tommy Doherty limped out of that fixture after taking a knock but is expected to return. Elliott Frear is likely to deputise again if he does not recover in time. Injured trio Matt Oakley, Steve Tully and Craig Woodman were also absent and are doubtful for the weekend. Tully and Woodman face late fitness tests and may feature on the bench but Oakley is still recovering from a thigh injury which has kept him sidelined for nine months. Meanwhile, Nick Fenton and Richard Brodie are pushing for places in Morecambe's starting line-up. Experienced defender Fenton and on-loan Crawley striker Brodie were both left on the bench as a precaution due to calf injuries for last Sunday's shock 2-1 Capital One Cup win over Blackpool. Brodie came off the bench in the second half to make his Shrimps debut in place of Jordan Burrow and the 25-year-old is well placed to start alongside Lewis Alessandra, who opened the scoring at Bloomfield Road. Chris McCready is most likely to make way should Fenton be accommodated at the heart of the defence. Veteran attacker Kevin Ellison is 100 per cent fit to start the new league season having had the back problem that plagued last term him carefully managed through pre-season, meaning boss Jim Bentley has a fully-fit squad at his disposal.