A probably soggy Premier Saturday

Dover Athletic, with a three point lead at the top, are on the road to Bowers and Pitsea, and despite the dreadful weather forecast for Saturday this one should definitely go ahead as the Len Salmon has a 3G pitch! Athletic have a seven match unbeaten run in the league to protect, winning six of those, so are in fine form; whilst Bowers are hoping to avoid a third consecutive defeat- and to pick up three points which will lift them out of the bottom four. The hosts have played some good football this season, they just haven’t been able to do so consistently, which is perhaps why they’ve narrowly lost four of their last five in all competitions. 

Wingate and Finchley will hope that their Summers Lane sponge soaks up whatever the weather throws at it. The Blues, in second place, welcome Horsham, the Hornets in a lowly fifteenth place- albeit with a significant number of games in hand due to their cup exploits. Cup matches aside, Horsham have been superb at home this season and rather less successful on the road, and have only a draw to show for their last four away matches in League and Cup. Their hosts have only one home league defeat, but are almost as likely to draw on their own patch as win. Wingate took four points from their meetings last season, when both sides finished in the Play Offs.

Third place Cray Valley PM welcome Potters Bar Town, who have slipped to eleventh after a run of six matches without a win. The Millers are seven unbeaten and are looking for a fourth successive victory, and a fifth successive win at home; whilst for the Scholars currently every day is an away day, but their last five official away days in League and Cups have all ended in defeat. 

Billericay Town are on the road to Chichester City- another ground with a 3G pitch, but look out for flooding on the A27 if the weather is as suggested, there’s a stretch of road just outside of the City which always seems to struggle when the weather is particularly damp. The fourth place Blues could climb as high as second with victory, and they have lost only one league match so far this season; whilst City have slipped to fourteenth after a run of one win in six, but have shown this season that if everything clicks they can be a match for anyone. 

Lewes travel to Dartford. The fifth place Rooks got back to winning ways in their last league match, hammering Bognor, but have lost two cup matches since then so will hope for a reaction. The Darts are looking for a fifth league match unbeaten, but three of the last four have ended in draws and they will be rather focused on putting together a winning run and thrusting themselves into the promotion picture, as they start seven points behind their opponents.

Carshalton Athletic- another side with a 3G pitch- are in fine form and have their eye on fifth place, which is three points away. The Robins will hope to get those three points from visitors Cheshunt, who have lost four of their last five in League and Cup, and will hope to bounce back from Velocity Cup defeat at Billericay in midweek. Athletic have lost only one of their last seven in all competitions, and at home are unbeaten since August 24th- that’s eleven matches, the last five of which ended in victory.

Dulwich Hamlet welcome Hashtag United to Champion Hill, three weeks after the Tags defeated them at the same venue in the FA Trophy. Hamlet have seen their last six matches bring three wins and three defeats, but are only three points away from the top five; whilst the Tags find themselves in the bottom four and maddeningly inconsistent, this week alone proving that- a giant killing win over National League North side Brackley Town followed by a midweek defeat against Canvey Island. Hamlet took four points from the meetings between the sides last season.

Canvey Island- wrap up warm, it’s always cold (!)- welcome Cray Wanderers to the land where there’s always a view of an enormous container ship if the football gets boring (which, of course, it never does!). The Gulls have been on a fine run, and are four places away from the top five, having won four of their last six. The difficulty for home fans is that their side have been far more effective on the road than on their own patch, which should give Wanderers a bit of a boost, given they’ve picked up more points away from their own Flamingo Park. With only two defeats from seven Wands seem to have shaken off their early season malaise, but they don’t tend to win on the Island, and indeed haven’t defeated Canvey here since 2012. 

Folkestone Invicta welcome another set of Seasiders, Bognor Regis Town making the trip. Invicta have climbed to ninth after winning their last two, and indeed it has been suggested that their victory over Dulwich Hamlet in midweek was their best performance of the season. Good performances have been at a premium for the second bottom Rocks, and they have only one win on the road so far. Bognor have won their previous three meetings, the latest of those a four-nil hammering at the end of last season.

Tenth place Hendon welcome Hastings United to Silver Jubilee Park (3G), five points and seven places separating the sides. The Greens have only one win from six -although three of those were draws- but have been very strong on their own patch, with only one defeat at home in any competition this season. United, conversely, have won only once on the road in the league, and indeed have only two wins from ten. That away league win was on the opening day of the season, and since then their travels have brought them only one more victory, an FA Trophy win at Leatherhead. Still, Hendon play in green, perhaps United can pretend they are the Tanners!

Chatham Town (3G) are at home to bottom side Whitehawk. The Chats are on a seven match unbeaten league run, whilst the Hawks are on an eight match run which have seen them pick up only two points and score only one goal, which is why they find themselves at the bottom. Chatham’s problem is a tendency to draw matches- seven of fifteen this season- and that has particularly affected them at home, where five of eight have ended level.