Aldershot Town v Borehamwood

This has the potential to be a very, very dull football match to kick things off in the National League.

At home, we have Aldershot Town. Mark Molesley’s side have lost eight of their last nine, including each of their last six. They have not scored in any of their previous five matches and have scored just three goals in their last nine. They have not scored more than one goal in any of their last 13 matches and none of their home games this calendar year. Only Dover Athletic have picked up less points at home than Aldershot, who have accrued a measly 11 points from 18 matches.  

Visiting, we have Boreham Wood. Luke Garrard’s side have not scored in any of their last five league matches. Their six most recent results have been 1-1; 0-1; 0-0; 0-1; 0-1 and 0-0. They are without a victory in seven league matches and have scored just four goals in ten matches. They have scored in just one of their last six league matches away from home and scored more than one goal in just two of their last 13. Just 25% of their away matches have seen three or more goals scored.   Neither side offers much of an attacking threat, neither side is playing with confidence and both would be happy with a 1-0 score line. I just hope the weather is nice for paying supporters.

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Barnet v Solihull Moors

Barnet never seem to be all that far away from a crisis and their 6-0 loss at Wrexham appeared to be the culmination of issues Dean Brennan has continued to speak up about.  

Firstly, injuries. Brennan has been agitated recently about the number of injuries amongst his squad and players’ failure to make themselves available. He named just four substitutes in midweek with just 13 outfielders available for selection. Then there is his defeatist attitude when it comes to playing the top sides in the division. He believes his side lacks the physicality to compete properly against the best in the division and that has proven to be the case – Barnet have lost 11 of their 16 matches against sides in the top ten including five of their seven home matches.  

It would therefore be useful if they weren’t coming up against a top ten side this weekend. Or a top four side, even. Especially one unbeaten in 14 matches and with hugely impressive record against sides in the bottom half of the table. Neal Ardley’s Solihull Moors sides have lost just one of 23 matches against sides in the bottom 12 of the division, that coming on match day three against Weymouth. They have won six and drawn five of their matches against the same opposition away from home. Four of those matches finished 0-0, something unlikely to be repeated given Moors have found their shooting boots and scored 24 goals in their last nine matches, only being held at FC Halifax Town.  

They also have Adam Rooney returning for this one, while Danny Newton returned in midweek. Options galore, something Brennan can only envy.  

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Weymouth v Grimsby Town

Weymouth’s chances of pulling off an unlikely survival have all but gone. The Terras now sit nine points adrift of safety having failed to take advantage of Aldershot Town’s prolonged poor form and have even seen King’s Lynn Town overtake them.  

Six consecutive defeats have played a big part in dooming Weymouth to relegation. They have scored twice and conceded 16 during that run. Admittedly, five of those matches were played away from home and they did go three unbeaten at home prior to the run, drawing with Chesterfield and Bromley while beating Eastleigh, still the only victory David Oldfield has managed since moving from Oxford City. However, Weymouth have not beaten a side higher than 18^th in the league table since match day three and have picked up just eight points from 24 matches against sides 15^th or higher in the league over the course of the campaign.  

They play a Grimsby Town side who are in fantastic form at the minute, winning eight of their last 12 to reignite their promotion hopes and break back into the top seven. The Mariners have won four of their last six away from home, only coming unstuck in games against Boreham Wood (0-0) and Southend United (0-1). Key to their good form has been defensive improvements, not conceding more than one goal in any of their last 13 matches. Also, the returns of John McAtee, Jordan Maguire-Drew and Ryan Taylor as well as the signing of Gavan Holohan, who won promotion with Hartlepool United last season, have helped give the side more attacking impetus.  

Paul Hurst’s side are playing with style and substance right now. Weymouth are playing with neither. 

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Wrexham v Eastleigh

There is no stopping Wrexham right now.  

Phil Parkinson’s side have well and truly opened the floodgates, scoring six goals in each of their last two home matches and 25 in their last six. Their front three of Ollie Palmer, Paul Mullin and Jordan Davies were on the scoresheet again in midweek and they were all substituted in midweek, rested ahead of this game. The Welsh outfit have won eight of their last nine at home, the only points dropped coming against Maidenhead United when they had ten men for 86 minutes. Their form and confidence has also taken them into the FA Trophy final, beating league leaders Stockport County 2-0 away from home.  

Basically, it’s going to take an almighty effort and a fair bit of luck if Eastleigh are to take a point from this game. Eastleigh won two of six since Lee Bradbury took the reins from caretaker Jason Bristow, a 4-1 victory against Wealdstone in his opener before a 2-0 victory away at Aldershot Town at the weekend. They lost the other four and before the weekend, they had lost eight and drawn one of their previous nine away matches. Their away record has been poor all season, winning just three of 18 away matches, losing 13. They have lost 11 of 12 matches away from home against sides in the top 15 and scored in just three of those matches. They have lost six of their nine away matches against the top ten by more than one goal.  

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Stockport County v Southend United

Similar to the bet above, this is all about the hosts being one of the best two sides in the division and showing as much on a regular basis.  

Since Dave Challinor took charge at Stockport County, his side are unbeaten at home, winning nine and drawing two at Edgeley Park. They also have a perfect record against the sides in the bottom half of the table, winning each of their last 16 matches against sides 12^th or lower. Their defensive record has seen huge improvement, conceding six goals in their last 16 matches, keeping 12 clean sheets. They are also finding the back of the net for fun, scoring 14 goals in their last five matches.  

Southend United are now the lowest ranked side in the National League left to play the league leaders and recent form suggests we aren’t about to see a shock result live on BT Sport. Their 13-match unbeaten run came to an end in mid-March and they have since lost four of their last five matches, meaning their current form reads two wins from nine matches. Kevin Maher’s side are now without a win in four away from home, losing their previous two, and they are yet to beat any side in the top 12 away from home – they have two points from ten games.  

The visitors have struggled for consistency in selection due to injuries in recent weeks while the hosts have proven time and again they can put away sides in the bottom half of the table. Home victory.  

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18+ please gamble responsibly.

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