A midweek win for Dorking Wanderers saw Marc White’s side extend their lead at the top of National League South to four points - meaning they will retain the lead whatever happens this weekend. Here’s your weekend preview of the key games, and match odds courtesy of Betfred.
By Steven Oldham
Wanderers face a big test as they welcome second place Ebbsfleet to Meadowbank.
Seven straight wins have propelled Dorking to the top and they’ve scored an impressive 25 goals in those games.
They’ve only suffered one home defeat in the league to date - way back in August in a 2-1 loss to Hungerford Town.
Ebbsfleet will carry both their own and the rest of the chasing pack’s hopes at their feet as they aim to prevent Dorking pulling further away.
Dennis Kutreib’s side have won four of their last five and kept three clean sheets in that time frame.
They’ve recovered from a mini slump of three straight defeats to once again be challenging at the top.
Odds: Home 7/5, Draw 5/2, Away 11/8
Both sides will have to shake off last weekend’s FA Trophy disappointment as they look to keep their promotion charges intact.
St Albans have been in patchy form in recent weeks, with three victories in all competitions since the start of December - one of which was a penalty shootout win over Braintree Town in the FA Trophy.
Ian Allinson’s side have four games in hand on leaders Dorking thanks to a combination of progress in the cups and postponements over the festive period.
They still boast the division’s top scorer in Shaun Jeffers who has 18 for the season.
Maidstone pushed Boreham Wood all the way last weekend in the FA Trophy before going out on penalties.
Hakan Hayrettin’s side will look to return to winning ways in the league having been held by bottom club Billericay Town last time out.
Stones are unbeaten in eight, winning six of these games back to back.
Odds: Home 9/5, Draw 23/10, Away 6/5
Two sides in need of three points come head to head at Princes Park this Saturday.
Dartford must improve on their current winless streak of four games if they are to stay in the title race. The long-time leaders are now down to fifth place and nine points behind the leaders. Steve King’s side do have two games in hand on Dorking.
The Darts have failed to score in half of their last ten games, including bruising defeats to title rivals Maidstone and Ebbsfleet.
Gary McCann’s visiting Beavers side are similarly out of form, losing six out of their last seven. They have tasted victory more recently than their opponents, beating Concord Rangers earlier this month.
Odds: Home 7/10, Draw 5/2, Away 3/1
Bottom club Billericay Town picked up a first win since October last week to lift themselves off the foot of the table.
Their joy was short-lived however as Braintree picked up a win of their own in midweek to put Jody Brown’s side back where they started.
There’s no denying that Billericay have improved in recent weeks - they’ve only lost once in their last six and have kept three clean sheets.
Havant & Waterlooville are another side going off the boil at the moment - with one win in six. A Boxing Day 8-0 thumping at Dorking was the club’s worst ever result.
The Hawks are still within touching distance of the playoffs and hold games in hand on the teams around them.
Odds: Home 15/8, Draw 12/5, Away 11/10
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