AFC Fylde v Telford United (National League North)

A standard bet based on the home side being very strong at home and the visitors being very poor away from home.  

Recent form hasn’t been kind to Jim Bentley’s Fylde side who have picked up four points from their last four matches. In their defence, they have played Chorley (5^th), Curzon Ashton (10^th), Gateshead (1^st) and Brackley Town (1^st) in those games. Their home form has been strong this season, winning eight of their 11 matches at Mill Farm. Their record against sides in the bottom half of the table has been strong, winning eight of their 12 matches and all four home matches.  

AFC Telford have been brought back down to Earth of late with a draw and three defeats in their last four after huge home victories against Darlington and Bradford Park Avenue. The Bucks remain winless away from home this season, remain winless against the top four and have not won a game against a side higher than 14^th since their opening day victory against Chorley.  

Telford have strengthened with the additions of the experienced Byron Moore and ex-Leicester City youngster Lamine Sherif this week but with the pair having played little football recently, it’s hard to imagine them having a big enough impact to turn their form book on its head here.  

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Bradford Park Avenue v Farsley Celtic (National League North)

The appointment of former Scunthorpe United promotion winning manager Russ Wilcox is something of a coup for Farsley Celtic but his arrival hasn’t seen an upturn in results just yet.  

A difficult campaign has gotten progressively worse for The Celt Army, moving from a side keeping their heads above water to a side that have dropped to the bottom of the table and lost all semblance of defensive structure. Farsley have played ten matches since the start of December, conceding two or more goals on nine occasions and three or more on seven occasions. Their form against the sides around them hasn’t been good either – Farsley have won one of their 12 matches against sides 11^th or below in the league table.  

Bradford Park Avenue are managing to keep their heads above water and that is largely in thanks to four wins in their last eight matches. Unlike Saturday’s opposition, Mark Bowers’ side have done a good job of getting results against the sides around them in the table, winning four and drawing one of their five home matches against sides in the bottom half and losing three of their 12 matches overall against the same opposition. They come into this one having won three of their last five home matches and even in defeat, they scored twice against York City and Gateshead.  

The numbers point to Bradford getting another important result on Saturday.  

Gateshead v Spennymoor Town (National League North)

 Beware the wounded beast.  

League leaders Gateshead tend to respond positively to setbacks. They responded to defeat against Leamington by scoring three goals in each of their next three matches. They responded to losing against AFC Fylde by winning seven on the bounce. They responded by losing their first home match of the season by winning their next four and they have so far responded to their most recent defeat against AFC Fylde by beating local rivals Blyth Spartans 3-0 and Alfreton Town 4-0.  

Can Spennymoor Town stop the league leaders in their tracks? It’s not easy to make a case. For starters, The Moors have won just three of their 12 away matches this season, all of which came before the end of September. They are winless in eight on the road, picking up just two points. They have also won just two of their last 15 matches overall, beating only struggling Chester and Guiseley. They have played four matches against sides in the top five, losing all four, including three away matches.  

Gateshead have won ten of their 12 league matches this season, only coming unstuck against Chorley and AFC Fylde, who both sit in the top five. Another local derby victory at the Gateshead International Stadium is on the cards.  

Kidderminster Harriers v Alfreton Town (National League North) 

Kidderminster Harriers just keep going.  

With their FA Cup run finally coming to an end in dramatic fashion against West Ham United, it would have been understandable had Russell Penn’s side finally faltered in the league. Instead, they went and beat two of their local rivals, seeing off AFC Telford United 1-0 before a 3-0 victory against a Hereford side that have been in fine form of late. The Warwickshire outfit have lost one of their last 17 matches in the league, winning 13 and they now find themselves four points league leaders Gateshead with a game in-hand.  

Alfreton Town, meanwhile, have won just three of their last 13 matches and have slid away from play-off contention as a result. Billy Heath’s side have a respectable five wins from their 12 league matches on the road this season but have won just two of their last seven and they came against a Curzon Ashton side that couldn’t buy a win at the time and a Boston United side that would sack their manager shortly after the game. They were thumped 5-0 by lowly Bradford Park Avenue in their last trip away from North Street and go into this one having lost 4-0 at home against Gateshead.  

Kidderminster Harriers are made of some strong stuff and should continue the winning habit.  

Southport v Leamington (National League North)

 Southport’s unbeaten run was always going to end eventually and a 2-1 loss against in-form Kettering Town seemed fair enough. However, following that up with a 5-0 loss at Chester was a huge leap in the wrong direction. 

The Merseyside outfit responded positively, beating AFC Telford United 3-0 on the road and they have since followed that up with draws in tricky ties against Boston United, away, and Curzon Ashton, home. To drum the point home that Southport are back to their best, their unbeaten run saw them keep nine clean sheets in 14 matches, conceding more than one goal just once, very early on in that run. They have conceded just once in their last three matches.  

Leamington can be very awkward opposition for teams to navigate but they have struggled on the road this season, winning just one of their 13 away matches and that was against a Blyth Spartans side that had lost their previous five and would lose the next two. That result came in November and they have since picked up two points from six matches on the road. 

Paul Holleran’s side have scored more than one goal just once on the road, scoring nine goals in total. Southport, meanwhile, have scored in 11 of their 13 home matches and more than once in nine. They remain unbeaten at home and have an 8-2-0 record against sides below them in the table.  

Braintree Town v Hungerford  Town (National League South)

It is free entry for anybody that wishes to visit Cressing Road this Saturday and Braintree Town will hoping a boosted crowd can help them record back-to-back victories for the first time this season.  

The Iron have recovered well since enduring a run of seven defeats on the bounce through September and October, losing just three of their last 13 matches as they bid to keep their heads above water. However, they have lost as many matches as they have won in that period and their current six-match unbeaten run epitomises this, victories against Hampton and Richmond Borough and St.Albans City coming either side of four consecutive draws.  

Hungerford Town’s form has been indifferent all season, The Crusaders never winning or losing more than two games in succession. They have won three and lost four of their last eight matches and are also without a victory on the road in four, losing three. However, their form against the sides below them in the league table is strong – Hungerford have played 12 league matches against bottom half teams, winning seven and drawing three. Only Tonbridge Angels, the scourge of top half National League South teams, have got the better of them.  

The hosts are in good form and hopefully the free entry initiative works out well for them. However, they have won once at home this season and Hungerford tend to get the better of those below them in the table.  

Dartford v Bath City (National League South)

Steve King and Dartford have finally found some form again.  

The Darts started the season with seven wins from eight to take early leadership of the National League South table but faltered from the end of October, winning just two of their next 13 matches. However, a lot of those games were played on tight margins with only one game separated by more than one goal – a 4-0 loss away at Maidstone United – and seven ending in draws. The Darts have won each of their last four matches with new loan signings Kory Roberts and Marcus Dinanga having a positive impact.  

Bath City remain one of the most frustrating sides to follow in the National League South. Jerry Gill’s side have shown they can win football matches but they have failed to win more than two in succession and have drawn just once. Primarily, their points have come against the sides in and around them in the table – Bath have recorded six of their nine wins against sides 14^th or lower with two of their three victories against sides above them in the league table coming against local rivals Chippenham Town in a Christmas derby double.  

Five of Dartford’s six home draws came during the 13 game run mentioned above and they have won each of their last two at Princes Park. Meanwhile, Bath City have won four and lost nine on the road and are yet to pick up a point against any side in the top six. Home win.  

Dorking Wanderers v Chelmsford City (National League South)

It turns out that Dorking Wanderers aren’t quite perfect but they responded positively to a first defeat in 11 games with a professional 2-0 victory away from home, saying plenty about the promotion credentials of Marc White’s side.  

Despite the 3-1 loss against Tonbridge Angels, who have now done the double over Dorking this season, The Surrey club have a home record that is the envy of the rest of the division, winning their previous nine at Meadowbank. They have scored in all 12 of their home matches this season, scoring at least twice on eight occasions.  

Chelmsford City have made stark improvements lately. The Essex club were amongst the group looking over their shoulders at the relegation places but they have lost just one of their last 12 matches to move themselves into mid-table, moving themselves closer to the play-offs than the sole relegation place. However, the fixture list has been kind to them with eight of their league matches being played against bottom half teams and none against the top five.  

For all of Chelmsford’s improvement in recent weeks, this is the kind of test they have been able to avoid of late. Dorking have won 11 of their last 12 and 15 of their last 20. They are top of the table for a reason.  

Slough Town v Welling United (National League South)

Slough Town are giving Dulwich Hamlet a run for their money at the minute in the Both Teams to Score in every game played stakes.  

The Rebels have scored and conceded in 12 of their last 13 matches, the only blot on that copybook being a 1-0 loss at St.Albans City. It’s not a new thing either. Remove the first three games of the season and Slough have scored and conceded in 19 of their 22 league matches. Given their form has been so mixed this season – Slough are mid-table having won eight, drawn seven and lost ten of their 25 league matches – it stands to reason that there is a chance both teams could score regardless of Slough’s performance.  

This weekend’s visitors Welling United aren’t quite on the same level. Both teams have scored in a respectable four of their last eight matches with the other four games seeing just three goals scored. However, they came up against Dulwich Hamlet in midweek, a side that have scored and conceded in nine of their previous 10 matches, and promptly lost 3-1. The Wings also lost 3-1 against Dorking Wanderers and 4-1 against Hungerford Town, the other two sides whose record of scoring and conceding is unmatched by most.  A game in which you can expect both sides to find the back of the net. It may even be worth backing Over 2.5 goals at 1.57.  

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