NPL preview | Saturday 14 December

A battle between two sides currently in the top five headlines this weekend, as Guiseley make the trip to the Project Solar Stadium to face Hyde United.

Guiseley went 10 games unbeaten with a draw against Leek Town in midweek and will be aiming to put a 10-point barrier between themselves and Nicky Spooner’s side with a win.

Hyde also come into this one off the back of a 1-1 draw with Leek - a point which extended their unbeaten streak to six.

League leaders Macclesfield are at home this weekend, as they welcome play-off chasing Stockton Town to the Leasing.com Stadium.

Stockton are aiming to halt a run of three defeats in their last four in the league, whereas Macclesfield will look to make it back-to-back league wins after leaving it late to triumph at Workington a fortnight ago.

Leek Town will be looking to build on successive draws when they face third-placed Worksop Town.

Worksop came out on top in a dominant 4-0 win when the two met at Harrison Park in September. A similar result this time around would stretch Leek’s winless run to nine league games, with the Blues entering the weekend second-bottom of the division.

Ilkeston Town, who currently occupy a place in the play-offs, travel to the Yorkshire Coast to face Whitby Town.

The Robins are currently on a three-game winning run, which includes an impressive home win over Worksop last weekend.

Ian Deakin’s side will be hoping for more of the same from his players, who beat the Seasiders 5-1 earlier in the season.

Back towards the foot of the table, Blyth Spartans will go in search of their first win since mid-September when they welcome Prescot Cables to Croft Park.

Prescot themselves are without a win in five, and they will be hoping to get back on track against a struggling Blyth side.

Meanwhile, Warrington Rylands will look to climb out of the bottom four when they host Workington.

The same is also true of FC United of Manchester, after they dropped into the bottom four after Gainsborough Trinity’s victory in midweek.

Mark Beesley’s side are on their travels this time around, with FC United heading to Greenwich Avenue to take on Basford United.

Elsewhere, Gainsborough will be searching for a fourth league win in a row when they take on Lancaster City.

The Holy Blues still have a plethora of games in hand due to their impressive cup runs, and can climb as high as 13th with another win this weekend.

In the weekend’s other action, Matlock Town are at home, as Ryan Cresswell’s side take on Mickleover.

Mickleover came out on top when the two sides met in September, but both sides have been on different trajectories in the short time since.

Matlock, the league’s fifth-best side over the past 10 games, will be hoping to inflict an eighth defeat in nine league games on Mickleover.

And finally, Hebburn Town travel to Bamber Bridge this weekend.

A run of one win in five has seen Hebburn drop down to eighth in the league.

They’ll be hoping to get back on track and secure a league double over Brig, after winning 5-1 at Hebburn Sports Ground in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

• Fixtures - Saturday 14 December
  Bamber Bridge vs Hebburn Town 
• Basford United vs FC United of Manchester
• Blyth Spartans vs Prescot Cables
• Hyde United vs Guiseley
• Lancaster City vs Gainsborough Trinity
• Macclesfield vs Stockton Town
• Matlock Town vs Mickleover 
• Morpeth Town vs Ashton United
• Warrington Rylands vs Workington
• Whitby Town vs Ilkeston Town
• Worksop Town vs Leek Town

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