Hartlepool United (home)
- Sixth-placed Forest Green Rovers have 78 points from 44 National League fixtures, while 9th-placed Hartlepool United have 62 points from 43 games.
- Hartlepool have scored 23 times in 21 home games, which is hardly scintillating, but they have been solid enough to get the job done.
- United boss Antony Sweeney sets his team up to play a flexible system where the shape and compactness are more important than the actual personnel, with players rotating around the field.
- Hartlepool will set up to be compact and play a tight game.
Forest Green Rovers (away)
- Forest Green Rovers have won eight, drawn seven and lost seven of their 22 away National League games this season.
- Forest Green Rovers have averaged 1.45 goals for and 1.27 goals against across their last 22 National League away games.
- Connor has implemented an attacking scheme where his team press hard and are encouraged to play on the front foot, a stark contrast to Hartlepool’s more pragmatic approach.
Head-to-Head
Rovers won the last National League head-to-head seven months ago, 1-0 , and across the last two head-to-heads Forest Green holds the edge with one win and one draw, while Hartlepool is yet to claim victory.
Key Players
- Alex Reid has scored 11 goals in 38 National League appearances for Hartlepool this term and has been the team’s main outlet in recent matches.
- Kyle McAllister is the main man for Rovers with 14 goals in 40 National League outings this season.
- Connor has been spreading goals around his forwards lately, however, with three different players netting in their recent 3-1 win over Braintree.
Betting Insights
- Rovers’ odds for the win are 2.06 which is a little too short for us considering the scale of the occasion and the implications for the National League title race, however, their goals and style of play should see them get the win against Hartlepool.
- An open game is likely when these two clash, with Rovers’ pressing power set to test Hartlepool’s compactness.
- The hosts have failed to score in their last three games, drawing two and losing one, while Rovers have shown attacking threat, so we’re going to take Over 2.5 goals at 1.65 and Both Teams to Score - Yes at 1.55.
Prediction
Rovers’ new attacking regime under Daniel Connor has paid dividends and they should come out on top when they travel to face a pragmatic United outfit on Saturday.
