FC Halifax Town v Hartlepool United preview

Venue: The Shay

Date: Tuesday, October 24

Kick-off: 7.45pm

Referee: David Mcnamara has shown 29 yellow cards, but no red cards, in six National League games this season. Took charge of Halifax's 1-1 draw with Oxford City at The Shay in August. This is his first season officiating at National League level.

Odds: Halifax win 6/4, draw 23/10, Hartlepool win 9/5

In the league this season

Halifax: PL16 W6 D6 L4 F18 A15 GD3 Pts24

Hartlepool: PL16 W7 D1 L8 F26 A29 GD-3 Pts22

Last five games

Halifax: Eastleigh (h) L 3-2, Woking (a) W 2-1, Ebbsfleet (a) W 2-0, Marine (FAC h) L 1-0, Kidderminster (h) W 2-1

Hartlepool: Dorking (h) L 2-0, Boreham Wood (a) L 1-0, Eastleigh (h) W 3-1, Chester (FAC h) L 2-0, Aldershot (a) L 2-1

Scorers

Halifax: Alli (4) Harker (3), Senior (2), Evans, Cummings, Summerfield, Keane, Hoti, Cappello, Golden

Hartlepool: Dieseruvwe (9), Grey (3), Crawford (3), Cooke (2), Mancini (2), Seaman (2), Umerah, Hastie, Ferguson, Finney

Manager: John Askey is a proven promotion winner in non-league football, having done so with Macclesfield, where he was a club legend as a player and York City. Has also had spells at Shrewsbury and Port Vale in the Football League. Was unable to prevent Hartlepool from relegation into the National League after taking over in February.

Last season: 23rd in League Two

One to watch: Mani Dieseruvwe was Halifax's top scorer last season with 14 goals, and he is already more than halfway to matching that tally with Hartlepool, including three in his last two matches.

Head-to-head: Played 130, Halifax wins 57, draws 23, Hartlepool wins 50

Last time they met: Kieran Green cancelled out Mark Shelton's opener as the teams drew 1-1 at The Shay in March 2021.

Match facts: Only Kidderminster and Southend have conceded fewer home league goals in the fifth tier this season than Halifax (7), while The Shaymen have conceded fewer goals overall than anyone else in the division.

Only Fylde and Oxford City have conceded more goals on the road in the National League this season than Hartlepool (18)

Hartlepool have only kept one clean sheet in their 17 games this season.

Hartlepool will climb above Halifax if they win, while Halifax could go up to fifth if they win by a big enough margin and other results go their way.

Hartlepool have only scored in two of their last six matches, but Halifax have scored twice in each of their last four league games.

If Halifax win, they will have won four league games in a row for the first time since April.

Tuesday's National League fixtures:

Bromley v Dorking W

Barnet v Solihull M

Southend v Ebbsfleet

Aldershot v Maidenhead

Altrincham v Kidderminster

Rochdale v Gateshead

Chesterfield v York

Eastleigh v Woking

Halifax v Hartlepool

Fylde v Oldham

Wealdstone v Oxford C

Dag & Red v Boreham W