Notts County face play-off chasing rivals FC Halifax Town this evening in a fixture that is bound to be nothing short of enthralling. 

The Magpies return to Meadow Lane once again following Saturday’s impressive 2-0 victory over Eastleigh, where goals from Cal Roberts and Kyle Wootton ensured Ian Burchnall’s side all three points. This victory has added to what is another important run of unbeaten form, the same run that includes a win over tonight’s opponents. The two sides met just over a week ago, where a late goal from Kairo Mitchell ensured Notts entered the quarterfinals of the Buildbase FA Trophy. Another victory over FC Halifax Town this evening would see the Magpies leapfrog the Shaymen, with the possibility of regaining the fourth spot given results elsewhere go in their favour.  Ian Burchnall confirmed that Jim O’Brien is still the only Notts County player unavailable for tonight’s fixture as the Scottish midfielder is still facing time on the side-lines following an injury sustained in the back end of the last calendar year. However, as mentioned, beyond Jim O’Brien are no further injury concerns and as expected, this is gratefully welcomed by all involved with the football club as the Magpies begin a tough run of games this evening. Furthermore, the weekend’s comfortable victory over Eastleigh should give the players fielding in black and white shirts the confidence and belief to go and perform with the same standards against them rivalling them for promotion yet as already known, the quality within the Shaymen side is significantly better and will take a performance like the one displayed at the Shay Stadium ten days ago to get the job done on Pete Wild’s side again.

On the topic of Wild’s side, they haven’t featured in any competitive fixture since their previous defeat to Notts County. This is due to the pitch at the Shay Stadium being deemed unplayable for their proposed fixture against Dover Athletic, resulting in the game being postponed. Despite this, due to an impressive run at the beginning of the season, the Shaymen maintained their fourth place in the Vanarama National League regardless of all the results elsewhere. FC Halifax Town fielded a full-strength eleven in the game against the Magpies previously and still fell to defeat, this being against a Notts side that had eight changes made to it. With this being the case, Pete Wild will be undoubtedly demanding a higher quality performance from his players this evening, despite the team not playing for ten days. The players within that side possess good quality, Billy Waters being the prime example of that with thirteen league goals this season. A win for the visitors this evening could see them climb up to third place, but with a lot resting on the game already that task is not going to come with any ease whatsoever. As previously mentioned, defeat for the Shaymen this evening would see the Magpies leapfrog them in the Vanarama National League table giving them the upper hand in terms of potential play-off fixtures. This of course is a situation all connected with the football club are hoping to avoid. 

So, what can you expect from this fixture?

I expect the best game of the season at Meadow Lane Stadium so far. Both sides play very progressive football and possess some very good players who can all influence a game. It is no secret that the game is a clear six-pointer and I feel that will be shown by the way both teams attack and how the manage the game depending on the score line throughout. I cannot imagine many people would like to predict this one but given the Magpies’ current good form and the lack of games for the Shaymen, I can see the result going in favour of Notts County.

My prediction: Notts County 2-0 FC Halifax Town. 

Current form:

• Notts County: LLWWW
• Halifax Town: DLLWL 

Probable line-ups:

• Notts County:  Jaros, Chicksen, Cameron, Brindley, Richardson, Francis, Palmer, Rodrigues, Roberts, Sam, Wootton.
• Halifax Town: Johnson, Senior, Bradbury, Warren, Summerfield, Woods, Martin, Waters, Allen, Debrah, Warburton. 

Venue & time:

• Meadow Lane, 7:45pm Tuesday 22nd February 2022.

*Article provided by K-Ci Rennicks (Notts County Correspondent).

*Main image @Official_NCFC Ruben Rodrigues was instrumental in Notts win at Halifax in the FA Trophy.