NPL Preview | Hebburn head to Rylands and Stockton travel to Bamber Bridge as top six collide

The featured game of the weekend sees fourth-placed Warrington Rylands welcome league leaders Hebburn Town to Gorsey Lane.

The Hornets remained top last weekend despite not playing, and are on the search for a 13th win in 14 games to kick off a massive seven days which sees them take on Hednesford Town and FC United of Manchester too.

Rylands know that they’ve played at least two games more than the four sides directly below them in the table, so they’ll need to keep racking up the wins to keep the chasing pack at bay.

The two sides immediately below them in the table face off against each other, as fifth-placed Stockton Town travel to play-off chasers Bamber Bridge.

A six-point week last week saw the Brig extend their current winning run to four straight, and have now won eight of their last ten to move within a point of their visitors.

A fifth consecutive win would ensure that the side managed by Jamie Milligan - NPL Manager of the Month for both December and January - would end the weekend in the top five, having been just two points above the drop zone a little over two months ago.

Down towards the relegation zone, there’s a massive six-pointer between two of the sides that reside in it, as Stocksbridge Park Steels welcome Hyde United to Bracken Moor.

Hyde were forced to share the points in both of their opening two games under new manager Michael Clegg, and are now 13 games without a win.

Stocksbridge have won two of their last four, and a third win in five would see them go level on points with their opponents and deliver a huge boost to their survival hopes.

Elsewhere, back towards the top, Hednesford will look to get back to winning ways when they take on Whitby Town.

Not playing last weekend has seen Whitby now just three points above the drop zone, but with two games in hand over the sides around them.

A win against the side second in the league would give them confidence in navigating their way out of the league’s bottom half, while also achieving a rare league double over the Pitmen, after they were victorious in the reverse game back in October.

FC United of Manchester will have a keen eye on proceedings on Tuesday when Hebburn take on Hednesford, but they’ll be hoping to cut the current four-point gap between themselves and the top two before then.

Mark Beesley’s side take on Prescot Cables at Broadhurst Park, looking to secure back-to-back league wins for the first time in over three months.

Back near the foot of the table, Morpeth Town will be keen to pick up three points to ensure that, no matter what happens in the match-up between Stocksbridge and Hyde, Craig Lynch’s side will remain above the dreaded relegation line.

The Highwaymen are on the road, looking to pick up only their second league away win this season against a Cleethorpes Town side buoyed by a big midweek win over Warrington Town.

As for Paul Carden’s Yellows, they will hope to bounce back from a disappointing week - during which time they have lost ground in the play-off race - with a win against Ashton United.

Ashton were also beaten twice in the past week by two play-off hopefuls in Gainsborough Trinity and Lancaster City, and now sit eight points behind the top five. 

Gainsborough will hope to make it four wins in five on the road at Leek Town.

Leek are coming into this one with confidence after an impressive win at Ilkeston Town last weekend to move four points ahead of the bottom four. 

A second successive win would see the gap between themselves and the current seventh-placed outfit cut to just five points.

Lancaster got their play-off journey back on track in the past week, picking up a much-needed victory against Ashton and a draw against Hyde to move back within four points of the top five.

On Saturday they travel to Guiseley, who can move just two points behind Jimmy Marshall’s side with a win.

And basement club Workington will be looking to turn some recent draws into a much-needed fourth win of the campaign against Ilkeston.

The Reds are nine points removed from safety, and are starting to see their survival hopes dwindle away week by week.

A first win since November could kick-start a great escape, and would hand Ilkeston their second straight defeat in the process.

All games will kick off at 3pm, unless stated otherwise.

Fixtures - Saturday 7 February

• Ashton United vs Warrington Town
• Bamber Bridge vs Stockton Town
• Cleethorpes Town vs Morpeth Town
• FC United of Manchester vs Prescot Cables
• Guiseley vs Lancaster City
• Hednesford Town vs Whitby Town
• Leek Town vs Gainsborough Trinity
• Stocksbridge Park Steels vs Hyde United
• Warrington Rylands vs Hebburn Town
• Workington vs Ilkeston Town

Check out the latest fixtures and results from across the NPL East Division, NPL Midlands Division and NPL West Division.