League leaders Newport County will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the Blue Square South as they entertain Staines Town on Saturday while bottom-club Weymouth face a tricky test against fifth-placed Braintree Town.
Staines are the only side to beat Newport in the league this season with boss Dean Holdsworth insisting his side will come out on top this time around: "We have made our home ground a fortress and scored loads of goals and we deserve the respect that our position merits at the moment."
Weymouth will be looking for revenge against Braintree after suffering a 3-2 loss earlier in the month and after making a few acquisitions, including former player Stephen Reed, the Terras are confident of achieving a win.
Assistant-manager Andy Mason told the Dorset Echo: "Hopefully we've learned from our mistakes and know now with a bit of confidence that we are capable of getting a result. Playing them so soon after losing to them we know what they are about but, saying that, so do they now."
A number of games in the Blue Square Premier have already been called off because of the heavy snows but St Albans are hoping their match against second-placed Dover goes ahead as scheduled so they don't have to make the 216 mile round trip for nothing. Both sides have some problems ahead of the tie with players suspended. City are short up front while St Albans have limited options in defence.
The Kingfield pitch has been passed as playable meaning Woking and Bath City will thrash it out this weekend. The Cardinals suffered defeat at the hands of their weekend rivals last month and are another team out for revenge. Graham Baker's side have won their last three games at Kingfield with Adie Britton's side, who are currently in 10th place, hoping to put together a run of results in order to help their promotion push.
Bromley travel to Basingstoke this Blue Square Saturday in a match that could go a long way to determining the two sides' fate as they do battle for a play-off spot. Currently, just off the pace in eighth and ninth place, both sides need no motivation going into the match. Bromley boss Mark Goldberg has however, warned his players to step up their performances or he will replace them.
He told the Bromley Times: "I was very disappointed with the work ethic, especially of the front two in the first half in particular. For the first time in a long while, I felt let down by certain players. There were times when our distribution was off and poor, but there is no excuse for their lack of commitment."
The likes of Chelmsford will be hoping to derail their plans as they look to their own ambitions of moving up into a play-off place. They face a Dorchester side who are in 17th place, but come into the tie on the back of a 2-1 win over fellow relegation contenders Hampton & Richmond.
Borough host Welling this Saturday, having not notched up a win in the league since October 31, with their 4-0 win over Maidenhead the only positive result boss Alan Devonshire can call upon as he attempts to motivate his side.
Lewes have a reason to be excited as they prepare to face Eastleigh. Former Lewes legend Jean-Michel Sigere has returned to the Dripping Pan. Sigere joined Lewes in 2005 and was the club's top scorer the following season but he will need to settle quickly and get amongst the goals if he is to help his side out of the drop zone. Lewes are four points better off than Weymouth and two points adrift of Worcester in 19th spot - and safety.
Elsewhere, Havant and Waterlooville take on Bishop's Stortford. A victory for 16th-placed Havant would take them above the Blues, who are in eleventh place.
Basingstoke v Bromley
Chelmsford v Dorchester
Dover v St Albans
Hampton & Richmond v Welling
Havant and W v Bishop's Stortford
Lewes v Eastleigh
Newport County v Staines Town
Weymouth v Braintree Town
Woking v Bath City
Worcester v Maidenhead Utd
Posted: Friday , December 18, 2009
We now have two massive home games to show our support for what the team has done, starting tomorrow ... MORE >>
By amber646 on Thu, 11th March 10
| BlueSq South Standings | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newport County | 82 |
| 2 | Chelmsford | 58 |
| 3 | Bath City | 55 |
| 4 | Braintree Town | 55 |
| 5 | Staines Town | 54 |
| 6 | Eastleigh | 52 |
| 7 | Thurrock | 50 |
| 8 | Dover | 50 |
| 9 | St Albans | 48 |
| 10 | Welling United | 47 |
| Full standings | ||
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