Notts County v Hartlepool United
National League
Saturday 2nd November, 3pm
Meadow Lane
In Opposition
After coming close to financial oblivion during the summer, Notts County's new owners and boss Neal Ardley have worked wonders to steady the ship at Meadow Lane.
Relegation from the Football League cut deep for proud
County supporters but the threat of losing their club altogether loomed large
as previous owner Alan Hardy looked for a way out.As a result, Ardley had to wait to get the green light on
his recruitment drive so it was little wonder when The Magpies endured a slow
start to their debut in the National League.However, something seems to have clicked since the middle of
September and County have now enjoyed a run of seven wins from their last ten
in all competitions ahead of Saturday's game.Ardley's men currently occupy the final play-off spot in the
table but Pools would move within one point of their hosts if they could pick
up a fourth straight win this weekend.One To Watch
Enzio Boldewij is the only outfield player to have started every game so far this season and he's repaid Neal Ardley's faith with a strong of impressive performances.
The 6ft 1ins forward joined County in the summer of 2018 and
was one of the better performers during a torrid relegation campaign for The
Magpies.And he's got back among the goals this term too, hitting the
net six times in all competitions including a brace in Tuesday night's
impressive 4-0 win at Woking.Head To Head
Antony Sweeney will hope to mastermind the end to a long sequence of Notts County victories in this fixture when he leads the side at Meadow Lane on Saturday.
The Magpies have won their last five games against Pools and
you have to go back to December 2006 – when Sweeney was in the Pools line-up –
for our last win in Nottingham.Saturday will be the 34th competitive meeting
between the clubs and County have won 16 of the previous games in comparison to
Pools' 12 triumphs.Last Meeting
Notts County 2 Pools 1
Saturday 11th March 2017
Notts County: Collin, Tootle, Duffy, Hollis, Bola, Hewitt, Yeates, Milsom, Grant, Ameobi, Forte.
Subs not used: Loach, Dickinson, Clackstone.
Pools: Fryer, Harrison, Donnelly, Richardson, Featherstone, Thomas, Woods, Hawkins, Amond, Oates, Alessandra.
Subs not used: Bartlett, Martin, Hawkes, Orrell, Rooney.
On The Whistle
Joe Hull will take charge of his sixth Pools game but his first of the current season when he's the man in the middle for our weekend trip to Notts County.
The experienced official's most recent Pools appointmentcame during our 2-1 home defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge last December.
Hull is in to his third season on the National League's list
of referees and was at Meadow Lane in the opening week of the campaign when he
saw The Magpies lost to Barnet.Live Commentary
You can listen to full live online commentary of Saturday's game here on the Official Website – and the best thing is that it's all completely FREE.
Mark Simpson will be live on-air from Meadow Lane at 2.50pm
on Saturday when he'll set the scene and then run you through every step of the
action as it unfolds.Click here now to access the live online commentary.
Buying Tickets
Tickets for Saturday's game are available in advance from The Vic until 3pm on Friday, after which they will be on sale from the Away Ticket Booth at Meadow Lane on the day of the game.
Click here for all the information you need on buying tickets for Saturday.
Betting Odds
Notts County 7/8
Pools 14/5
Draw 5/2
Click here to see a full range of betting odds ahead of kick-off with our partners at LV Bet.