Erith Town vs Eastbourne Town FA Cup Preview: Both Sides Score in Every Game as Goals Look Certain

Last updated: Thursday 20 August 2026. Two days to go and the picture is about as clear as it is going to get before Saturday's FA Cup tie between Erith Town and Eastbourne Town kicks off at 15:00 UK time. The data is thin at this level. The sample sizes are small. But the thing is, what we do have tells you something concrete. Every game involving either of these clubs this season has had both teams scoring and finished with more than 2.5 goals. You do not need a laptop to see where this preview is heading.

The Form Guide

Erith Town come into this one on the back of a win. One game played this season, one win. They scored seven goals and conceded three in that match. Seven goals. At this level, that either means the opposition were woeful or Erith are genuinely free-scoring. Probably both. The point is they carry a threat going forward and they have shown zero interest in keeping things tight at the back. Clean sheet percentage this season: zero. That is not a coincidence after one match, that is just what happened.

Eastbourne Town have a slightly more rounded picture. Two games played overall, one win and one draw. Five goals scored, three conceded. Their away record is the more relevant number here because they are the visitors on Saturday. One away game, one away win, three goals scored and one conceded. That is a solid return. The thing is, they did not keep a clean sheet away from home either. Every game they have played has featured goals at both ends. Every single one.

What the Numbers Actually Tell You

Listen, I am not going to pretend this is a deep well of information. Both teams have played a handful of games between them. The head-to-head record is empty. There are no standings published yet for this competition. Injuries? Nothing confirmed either way in what has come through so far. Squad announcements have not altered the picture in any meaningful way ahead of this one.

What we have is this. Erith Town at home, backed by that big opening win and a genuine willingness to attack. Eastbourne Town away, with a win on the road already in the bank and goals in them wherever they play. The momentum slope for Eastbourne is actually positive at two, which tells you they are heading in the right direction. Erith's slope is flat at zero. They have one result. There is nowhere else for that number to go yet.

The Basics of This Tie

The FA Cup at this stage is brutal in its simplicity. You win or you go home. There is no second leg. There is no safety net. The team that competes harder, that wants it more in the moments that matter, that executes the basics under pressure will go through. That is the standard required. It is not complicated.

Erith have home advantage. That matters. At non-league level, home advantage is real. Your own pitch, your own crowd, your own routines. Eastbourne will need to show they have the desire and the attitude to go to someone else's ground and impose themselves. Their away win earlier this season suggests they can do it. Three goals scored on the road is not nothing.

The thing is, both of these sides look like they will have a go. Neither has shown any inclination towards defensive solidity. Neither has kept a clean sheet. Both score. Both concede. That is the picture and it is consistent across every game played so far.

The Betting Angle

I back one thing. I do not mess around with accumulators. They are for people who want to feel like they are involved without actually committing to a position. End of.

The selection here is both teams to score. The evidence for it is as clean as evidence gets in a preview with limited data. One hundred per cent BTTS rate for Erith Town this season. One hundred per cent BTTS rate for Eastbourne Town this season. Every game involving either club has had goals at both ends. You are not going out on a limb here. You are backing what has happened in literally every match either of these teams has played in 2026.

Over 2.5 goals sits alongside it as an equally strong case. Both teams are running at one hundred per cent for that market too. If you want to take the over instead, that is a reasonable position. I prefer both teams to score because it requires both sides to contribute. That feels right given what we know about these two. Neither defends particularly well. Both attack with intent.

Odds were not published in the data available at time of writing. Check your preferred bookmaker for current pricing. At non-league level these markets can offer value because the books do not always price them sharply. Look for both teams to score at anything above evens and you are in sensible territory based on what we know.

Final Word

This is the FA Cup. Someone goes through. Someone goes home disappointed. I cannot tell you with any real certainty who wins this match and I will not pretend otherwise. The data does not give me enough to make a strong call on the result. What it does tell me, clearly and repeatedly, is that goals are coming from both ends.

Erith Town at home with seven goals in their only game this season. Eastbourne Town away with three goals in their only away game this season. Neither side keeping clean sheets. Every match over 2.5 goals. The football tells a consistent story here. Back the goals. Let the result take care of itself.