On Saturday, Stalybridge Celtic travel to Stoke to face Hanley Town. Hanley are currently second bottom in twenty-first on sixteen points, twenty-three points and fourteen places below seventh placed Celtic. Kick off is 3pm.

With one win in their opening seventeen matches, Hanley have been bottom, or one off the bottom, for most of the season. That one win was away at Mossley, their only away win of this campaign. It took until the end of November before Hanley got a home win, when they beat third bottom Wythenshawe 3-1. They followed this up by beating Witton at home, though they suffered a 1-0 away defeat to Congleton in between. Since mid-December, Hanley have drawn away at Wythenshawe Town and lost four matches, losing their last two home matches to Chasetown and City of Liverpool. Hanley have picked up five points at home from a possible thirty-six. Only Liverpool have won fewer home matches than Hanley.

With ten goals scored at home, Hanley have the worst home attack in the league, four of those goals all coming from their top scorer, Dylan Scott who has five goals in total, with Joel Stair right behind on four. On average, Hanley score 0.8 goals per game at home (0.9 overall), and have failed to score in six home matches, a current season record. Defensively, they have the worst home defence in the league, conceding twenty-five goals, at a rate of 2.1 goals per game (1.8 overall), keeping one clean sheet at home. Their most dangerous period for attacking, is the last fifteen minutes, with nearly half of their scored goals coming in this period. Halfway through the first half is their most vulnerable period in the first half, conceding nine goals, whilst ten minutes after the restart sees them conceded eleven.

We’ve already played Hanley this season, in one of Hanley’s six away draws (highest in the league), which finished 1-1, with Joel Stair grabbing a goal in the last five minutes, cancelling out Max Leonard’s just after the restart. Last season, Celtic beat Hanley homme and away, both games finishing 2-1 to Celtic. In the away match, Celtic’s first of the season, with goals from Aaron Dwyer and Max Harrop, and a notable mention to Connor O’Grady stepping into the goalkeeper gloves after Elliott Wynne was sent off.

In Hanley’s last match, the 4-2 home defeat to City of Liverpool, Hanley lined up as:
1. Adam Whitehouse
2. Reece Jones
3. Sean Lawton
4. Corey Muirhead
5. Joel Stair
6. James Askey
7. Ajay Leitch-Smith
8. Josh Bowden
9. Tom Wakefield
10. Sean Cooke
11. Lewis Holdham

In Celtic’s last match the Manchester Cup game against Curzon which Celtic lost on penalties after getting within a whisker of winning, Celtic lined up as:
1. Charlie Monks
2. Javid Swaby-Neavin
3. Kyle Brownhill
4. Brandon Newell
5. Sean Tse
6. Jack Tinning
7. Benni Smales-Braithwaite
8. Liam Tongue
9. Lewis Rawsthorn
10. Max Leonard
11. Elliott Rokka

This game has banana skin written on it. Hanley are struggling, with several unwanted records in the league. Celtic are coming into the game from a very good result against top of the Conference North, and Celtic have a remarkable knack for ending other teams runs. That said, Celtic have to hopeful of a result on Saturday.