Will the Blues, Athletic, Millers- or Darts- be top on Saturday night?

Leaders Billericay Town travel to face Dartford in our match of the day, fourth v first. There are only three points between the sides- and the Darts have a game in hand- so even with three months of the campaign to go, this one looks particularly important. The Darts, unbeaten since mid October, are looking for an eighth consecutive win, whilst the Blues have won five of their last six, and go into the weekend two points clear at the top. Billericay won the first meeting between the sides by four goals to nil- we suspect it’ll be rather more difficult this time around.

Second place Dover Athletic lost their unbeaten away record last weekend, and indeed have lost three of their last four matches, a run which has cost them the top spot they had held for months. They will be confident of bouncing back as they travel to take on bottom side Bognor Regis Town, the Rocks- despite looking improved of late- eleven points from safety and with only one win from their last ten matches. Athletic defeated the Rocks one-nil when they last met.

Third place Cray Valley PM take on a Canvey Island side who look to have lost their way. The Gulls are only two points above the drop zone after a run of five consecutive defeats, whilst the Millers have only one defeat from ten- that aberration against Hashtag United on the first Saturday of the year. They have bounced back to win two since then, however, and are only two points from the summit. The sides drew four-all in a crazy game in October.

Horsham take a trip to Folkestone Invicta. The Hornets, who are seven points above sixth place Hashtag United, have been superb of late, and are looking for a ninth consecutive win; whilst Invicta have only one defeat from six and could climb as high as seventh if they can find a way past the Hornets. The Stripes have won five of their last six meetings with Horsham, including their meeting in Sussex in October, which finished one-nil. 

Sixth place Hashtag United take some superb form on the road to Carshalton Athletic. The Tags are looking for a fifth win in a row, and have only one defeat in twelve; whilst the Robins got back to winning ways after a five match winless run by hammering Hendon last weekend. The Tags won at Colston Avenue last season- but Athletic made up for that by defeating them at Parkside in October. 

Chichester City, in seventh as we enter the weekend, head to South London to take on a Dulwich Hamlet side who are only three points above the drop zone. It seems rather inexplicable that Hamlet should be in a relegation scrap, but at the moment that’s exactly how it looks, with only one win from ten and having lost their last four. City, meanwhile, have won their last five and are seven matches unbeaten, having transitioned to our top flight with comparative ease after promotion last season. When the sides met in October neither managed to score.

Chatham Town seem to have lost their way a little, slipping to eighth place after a fourth defeat in five on Sunday. The Chats, however, will still be firm favourites as they welcome a Hastings United side who look very short on confidence, the visitors four points from safety and having lost four of their last five. They do have a very good record against these opponents, however. The last time the Chats defeated United was in August 2015, and the last eight meetings between the sides have brought five Hastings wins and two draws. The match at the Pilot Field in October finished three-two to United, and both of the Chats goals came in added time at the end of the match. 

One-nil specialists Cray Wanderers have lost only one of their last ten- and won seven of those, six of them by that single goal. They changed things up a bit last weekend, defeating Hastings two-one, and they have the difficult task of a trip to Whitehawk. The Hawks have only one defeat in nine. The sides played out a goalless draw in October.

Potters Bar Town, buoyed by their win over Chatham on Sunday, are at ‘home’ again, welcoming Cheshunt for a local derby. The Scholars have won two of their last three, whilst the Ambers were in good form until a hammering at the hands of Whitehawk last weekend and will hope to quickly rediscover their mojo, particularly given they are only one point above the drop zone. The sides met twice in October, Cheshunt triumphing on penalties in the Velocity Cup, the Scholars winning their league meeting by one goal to nil. 

Lewes saw their poor run continue at Whitehawk in midweek, the Rooks with only two wins from their last seventeen league matches, a far cry from their dominance in the early stages of the campaign. They welcome second bottom Bowers and Pitsea to the Dripping Pan, the visitors nine points from safety and with only one win from their last ten. Bowers haven’t managed to defeat the Rooks in six attempts, losing two-nil at the Len Salmon in September. 

Wingate and Finchley have slipped down the table, going from the top five to fourteenth, after a winless run stretching back to mid November. Their last ten matches have seen them pick up only two points, and they are looking to end that winless streak as they welcome Hendon in a battle between two sides who seem to have forgotten how to win. The Greens have lost nine in a row, and will be rather desperate to avoid that moving into double figures- and to get some revenge for a six-one hammering in October.