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Saturday's Blue Square South Preview

Dover will be looking to solidify their position at the summit of the Blue Square South table, while second-placed Woking prepare for the visit of Maidenhead United.

Basingstoke Town will be looking to bounce back to winning ways when Mark Simpson's Bishop's Stortford visit The Camrose.

The Dragons suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of 10-man Woking in midweek and manager Frank Grays has called for a positive response from his players.

He told Basingstoke Gazette: "We had a good eight-game run and now we have to go again. We will lose other games and how we react is the important thing.

"There is no doom and gloom because we lost and we know there are tough games to come. We just need to move on and if we play with the same tempo again on Saturday, I will not be disappointed."

Gray has doubts over the availability of defender Lewis Christon, who strained his groin in the game against Woking.

Adam Aimable (knee) and Ryan Stephens (ankle) are also doubtful but winger Matt Warner will definitely miss out after undergoing surgery on his knee earlier this week.

Bishop's Stortford recorded a 3-1 victory over Hampton & Richmond Borough in midweek thanks to a Charlie Sheringham hat-trick.

The young striker has now got nine goals to his name and will be one of the Blues' key players on Saturday.

Eleventh-placed Bath City play host to strugglers Lewes at Twerton Park, while fourth-placed Braintree Town prepare for the visit of 19th-placed Worcester City.

Seventh-placed Bromley take on 16th-placed Weston-super-Mare at The Courage Stadium as they look to close the gap on the play-off places.

Dover boss Andy Hessenthaler will be targeting more of the same from his side when 14th-placed Hampton & Richmond Borough visit Perry's Crabble Stadium.

The league leaders recorded a 2-0 victory over Thurrock at Ship Lane on Tuesday evening and another win on Saturday afternoon could see them open a gap on second-placed Woking, who are also on 20 points.

Hessenthaler is expected to hand a debut to striker Andy Pugh, who joined the Whites on a month's loan from Gillingham on Thursday.

Fellow strikers Shaun Welford and Adam Birchall are on the treatment table, while midfielder John Keister has left the club to join neighbours Margate.

Hampton & Richmond manager Alan Devonshire is sweating on the fitness of defender Dean Wells after seeing his side fail to keep a clean sheet in their last nine games.

He told Richmond and Twickenham Times: "I believe Dean is the best central defender in the division. He is 50/50 at the minute, but it will be a major boost if we can get him back in at the weekend."

However, Devonshire will have to make do without the services of Francis Quarm (ankle), Ian Hodges (suspended) and Craig Tanner (head).

Chelmsford boss Glenn Pennyfather believes his confident Chelmsford City squad can secure a rare win at Staines Town's Wheatsheaf Park this weekend.

City's handful of recent fixtures against the Massive on their own patch have ended in nothing more than a point on each occasion, but Pennyfather knows his squad have what it takes to turn that history around, claiming: "We like to think we can get something out of every game and I'm a great believer that records are there to be broken, so hopefully we can buck that trend.

"The players are buzzing and the last four or five training sessions have been really upbeat, with the dressing room is busy and full of banter."

Aside from the long-term absences of midfielder Ollie Berquez and defender Simon Glover, the only concern is over centre-half Ben Martin who hobbled out of the win over Lewes on Monday night.

"We'll be keeping an eye on how he is and he may have to have a fitness test," Pennyfather continued. "Other than that, the players who picked-up knocks on Monday have recovered and we're otherwise at a full compliment."

Staines are new to the Blue Square South having followed City up from the Ryman League via the play-offs and they've made a decent start, with one more point than the Clarets in ninth place.

After winning their opening two games and losing their third, Town went on a run of five consecutive draws prior to Tuesday night's 3-1 victory at St. Alban's City.

Pennyfather added: "Staines have been together a while and have been similar for a few years now. They've always been a sharp side in our previous encounters and like to play the ball quickly on a nice surface. We're going there full of confidence."

Saturday's Blue Square South Fixtures:

Basingstoke v Bishop's Stortford, 15:00

Bath City v Lewes, 15:00

Braintree Town v Worcester, 15:00

Bromley v Weston-S-Mare, 15:00

Dorchester v Welling, 15:00

Dover v Hampton & Richmond, 15:00

Newport County v Eastleigh, 15:00

Staines Town v Chelmsford, 15:00

St Albans v Havant and Waterlooville, 15:00

Thurrock v Weymouth, 15:00

Woking v Maidenhead Utd, 15:00