The weekend's National League action includes an out-of-form Altrincham side hosting top-of-the-table Boreham Wood at Moss Lane on Saturday.
The hosts have dropped to midtable after an initial bright start to the campaign, whilst their visitors are unexpectedly flying high at the summit of the fifth tier in the early stages.
Match preview
As mentioned above, Altrincham's strong start to the National League season has tailed off in recent weeks, with Phil Parkinson's side dropping down to 11th as a result of their blip in form.
Six wins from their opening nine league fixtures had supporters dreaming of a surprise promotion to the EFL just a few weeks ago, but a four-match winless run has seen their hopes fade a little recently.
Despite three of those winless games being defeats, a mid-table spot remains a positive opening to the campaign for a side that finished down in 17th in 2020-21.
A break from domestic action saw the Robins travel to National League North side Gateshead in the FA Cup first round last weekend, with a stoppage-time equaliser from Jake Moult being required to avoid an upset.
Marcus Dinanga scored the other in a late two-goal comeback against a side one division below Altrincham in the English football pyramid.
Parkinson will hope that the joys of a late equaliser can be used as confidence on Saturday when they take on the league leaders.
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Meanwhile, since falling to just their second defeat of the season at Chesterfield three weeks prior to Saturday's fixture, Boreham Wood have responded with three-straight victories across league and cup action.
This run of wins included a routine 2-0 victory over fellow National League side Eastleigh in the FA Cup last Saturday, with Scott Boden netting a brace to see his side comfortably through to the second round.
However, despite possessing the third-best away record in the division heading into the trip to Altrincham, eight of Luke Garrard's side's 12 dropped points have arrived on their travels, so although it is a record not to be alarmed about at present, the boss will be aware of the different challenges faced away from their own supporters.
Although, Garrard knows his side will always stand a chance in picking up points from every game they compete in due to the stubborn defensive unit they have created in the early stages of the season.
A joint-best 11 goals conceded from the opening 14 fixtures has been the primary reason for their rise to the summit, and has allowed them to climb there despite ranking joint-10th in the division on goals scored at the other end of the pitch.
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Team News
Altrincham may hand a full debut to midfielder Adam Porter on Saturday, with the youngster arriving on a one-month loan deal from Stoke City prior to the FA Cup tie last week, in which Porter made his debut from the bench.
His arrival has provided a significant boost to a depleted Altrincham squad, which has been without a number of players due to injury and illness in recent weeks.
One player definitely returning on Saturday is fellow midfielder Ben Pringle though, who served a one-match suspension in the draw at Gateshead.
Matthew Kosylo and Dinanga may come into the starting lineup as a result of their impacts off the bench in that tie.
Meanwhile, the visitors have a new arrival of their own in the squad on Saturday, with Dennon Lewis being thrust into the matchday squad after signing from Wealdstone in midweek.
However, Lewis may have to settle for a place amongst the substitutes due to few changes expected in a team that has won three games in a row.
Altrincham possible starting lineup:
Gould; Senior, Sutton, Hannigan, Fitzpatrick; Moult, Pringle; Peers, Porter, Kosylo; Walker
Boreham Wood possible starting lineup:
Ashby-Hammond; Fyfield, Evans, Smith; Mendy, Rees, Mafuta, Raymond, Ilesanmi; Boden, Marsh
We say: Altrincham 0-1 Boreham Wood
Although Altrincham's recent games have seen plenty of goals, there may be a shortage on Saturday due to the stubbornness of the visitors' defence.
Boreham Wood do not concede many so one goal may be enough to see them nick another win at Moss Lane here.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Boreham Wood win with a probability of 58.73%. A draw had a probability of 23.1% and a win for Altrincham had a probability of 18.18%.
The most likely scoreline for a Boreham Wood win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.53%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (11.14%) and 1-2 (9.74%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.96%), while for an Altrincham win it was 1-0 (6.17%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 11% likelihood.
