MFL Weekend Preview (Premier Division)

​Atherstone Town V Darlaston Town

Atherstone will be looking to continue their good form against Darlaston on Saturday to keep their play off push on track. The Adders have been one of the form teams in the league over the last month and are coming off four consecutive wins going into this weekend.

They got a brilliant win against Whitchurch Alport in mid-week and are now three points off the play offs with eleven matches to go. The Warwickshire club have grown into the season and were 8 points off the play offs going into the new year.

They have a huge match in the race for the play offs against fellow top five contender Darlaston Town at Sheepy Road tomorrow afternoon.

Darlaston have been in good form over the last month with 13 points from their last six league matches to sit in 6th and a point off the play offs. The Citizens have been consistent throughout the season to emerge as a genuine play off contender with only five losses from 23 matches.

Their main issue which has stopped their play off push being more comfortable is their away form where they have won three out of 12 matches on the road.

It’s shaping up to be an exciting final few months of the season for both teams in a competitive race for the play offs.   

Bewdley Town V Stone Old Alleynians

Bewdley will be looking for a result tomorrow afternoon to have an outside chance of finishing above the bottom two. It’s been a challenging season for the hosts, and they are 15 points off Northwich Victoria in 16th. They would have to go on a good run of form and hope for results to go in their favour over the next month to stay up.

It’s looking like an uphill struggle for Bewdley and realistically they will be adapting to life in step six next season. One of their main issues has been their home form with nine consecutive losses which has stopped them challenging for safety.

Stone Old Alleynians have a bit of breathing space over the relegation zone going into this weekend. The visitors are seven points better off than Tividale in 17th and have ten matches remaining this season in the league.

In a tough division, Stone Old Alleynians have done well to stay competitive and avoid being in the bottom two.

One of their issues is their away record with two wins from 12 matches. If they could get a result tomorrow, it would put them in a strong position to stay at step five next season.   

Congleton Town V Lichfield City

Congleton play Lichfield City at Booth Street tomorrow afternoon in a huge match in the title race for the premier division. The Bears have been excellent since joining the MFL over the summer and are in contention for promotion to step four come the end of the season. One of their strengths has been their home form where they are unbeaten from 14 matches with thirteen wins and one draw.

The league title is still in Congleton’s hands, but they have a bit of work to do over the next few weeks. They are currently five points better off than Lichfield in 2nd and have nine matches remaining this season.

Lichfield are also in contention for the league title and have two games in hand over Congleton. This is a huge match for their title aspirations and if they could get a result, it would leave the title race wide open. 

The visitors have been strong away from home with only two losses from nine matches.

One of their main strengths has been their defence with only 21 goals conceded from 23 matches. They have also been consistent throughout the season with only two losses to date.

Tomorrow is a good opportunity for Lichfield to get a statement result against one of the standout teams at step five.   

Dudley Town V Uttoxeter Town

Dudley Town have been brilliant over the last few months and will be looking to continue their fine form tomorrow against Uttoxeter Town. The Robins are unbeaten from their last 12 matches with ten wins and two draws and have climbed up the table over the last few weeks. They are now in 9th and looking to cement their position in the top half of the table with eight matches left.

One of their strengths has been their home form at the Guardian Warehousing Arena with six wins and four draws from 13 matches. It’s been a fortress of late and they notably beat play off contender Stourport Swifts 5-1 a few weeks back.

Uttoxeter have struggled over the last few months with one win from their last six matches. None the less, they had a brilliant start to the season and to be in the conversation for the play offs back in the new year shows how far they’ve come. Consolidation in step five is a good season for Uttoxeter and they are comfortably clear of the bottom two with a 14-point gap.

They have been ok away from home with four wins from 12 matches.

Uttoxeter have mainly been competitive on the road and have lost by the odd goal to play off contending teams such as Lichfield and Highgate United.  

Highgate United V Stourport Swifts

Highgate United host fellow play off contender Stourport Swifts tomorrow afternoon at the Coppice. The Gate have been good this season in the premier division but are facing stiff competition from the likes of Darlaston Town, Atherstone Town and Stourport Swifts for a top five finish. They are currently in 5th and a point better off than Darlaston in 6th.

One of their main strengths has been their home form with eight wins from eleven matches. They also have the joint best defensive home record with only nine goals conceded which is excellent.

They have a good chance of finishing in the top three if they can get a run of form going. This would set up a home semi final match in the play offs and give them a strong chance of challenging for step four football.

Stourport are challenging for the play offs and are currently in 4th. They showed a lot of character to respond to the disappointing defeat at Dudley Town with consecutive wins against Uttoxeter and Studley last week to be in the mix for a top five finish.

They have been competitive away from home with just four losses from 12 matches.

Their main strength has been consistency with just four losses from 24 matches. If they can get on a run of form over the next month, they have a good chance of finishing in the top five.   

Northwich Victoria V Shifnal Town

Northwich will be looking to steer clear of the bottom two with a result against Shifnal Town tomorrow afternoon. It’s been a challenging season for the Vics since joining the MFL over the summer and they are currently five points better off than Tividale in 17th.

One of their main strengths has been their home form which has stopped them being in a relegation battle. Four wins and three draws from ten matches is solid and comfortably mid table. The main issue has been away which has stopped them challenging for a top half finish where they are yet to win.

Shifnal have been hit and miss this season and are comfortably in mid table. At this stage of the season, the play offs might be a stretch, but a top half finish is a realistic aim for the Shropshire side.

They are currently seven points off the top five and are in 10th with nine matches to go.

Studley V AFC Wulfrunians

Studley have been tough to beat over the last few months which has aided their play off push since the start of December. Just one loss from ten matches leaves the Bees in 3rd and they are five points better off than Darlaston with eight matches remaining.

They have been consistent at the Studley Sports Centre throughout the season with nine wins from fourteen matches. A top three finish would also be useful in aiding their play-off promotion chances which is the case with most teams near the top of the league.

AFC Wulfrunians have been good of late and are unbeaten from their last four matches in the premier division. Carl Abbott is doing an under the radar job in building a competitive squad and a top half finish would be a successful season for the Wulfs.

Their in a similar situation to Shifnal with the play offs being a stretch but there’s signs of progress for next season.  

They have been good away from home with just five losses from 13 matches on the road and will be looking for a statement result tomorrow afternoon.

Tividale V Romulus

Tividale will be looking for a result against Romulus tomorrow afternoon to narrow the five-point gap between themselves and Northwich Victoria in 16th. It’s been a tough season for the hosts who are currently in the bottom two and in a relegation battle to stay in step five for next season.

One of their strengths of a challenging season has been their home form at the Beeches where they have been competitive. Two wins and two draws from nine matches has given them a chance of staying up but there’s work to be done.

One of their big issues has been up front with 29 goals scored which is one of the lowest in the division. This is a bit surprising given the amount of attacking talent in the squad this season which has included the likes of Ryan Snape, Ewan Edwards and Jack Till.

Tividale have looked good for spells this season, but they have not managed to get the results unfortunately.

Romulus will be looking to respond to their exit from the MFL League cup in the week with the quarter final loss at Hinckley AFC on Monday. It’s been a transitional season from Romulus who are comfortably in mid table and have some breathing space over the bottom two with a 12-point gap.

Similar to Tividale, they have looked good for spells this season but have managed to pick up the results to not be too concerned about relegation.

They have been competitive on the road with just four losses from eleven matches.    

Wolverhampton Casuals V Whitchurch Alport

Wolverhampton Casuals will be looking for a result tomorrow afternoon to steer further clear of the bottom two. They are currently eight points better off than Tividale in 17th and have 13 matches remaining.

The Cassies have done a good job this season at step five and have managed to develop players such as Stan Amos alongside retaining their premier division status which is a success.

None the less, they have struggled a bit at Brinsford Stadium with just two wins from nine matches.

They are on a decent run of form going into this one and are unbeaten from their last three matches.

Whitchurch will be looking to respond to the mid-week loss against Atherstone Town. They are comfortably in mid table and well clear of the relegation places. With ten matches remaining, it’s been a transitional season for the visitors with the main highlight being the notable run in the FA Vase.

One of their issues has been away from home with three wins from eleven matches.

None the less, there’s been positives this season for Whitchurch under Adam Shillcock and hopefully they can build on it for next season.

Preview feature written by Rhys Beardmore for the Midland Football League