Sutton United v Hartlepool United
Vanarama National League
Saturday 14th March 2020, 3pm
Gander Green Lane
In Opposition
Sutton United will still hope they can engineer a winning run which can see them challenge for a place in the National League's top seven despite currently sitting in the bottom half.
The U's are six points adrift of the play-off zone but the
congested nature of the table means that if they can string together a few victories
during the run-in they could yet have a say.Matt Gray stepped in to the hotseat during the summer
following the departure of long-serving boss Paul Doswell and it proved to be a
tough start for the new man as Sutton won just three of their opening 21 games
in all competitions.However, they've been among the form sides in the division over
the last five months, have tasted defeat just twice in 2020 so far and have not
lost at home since November.One To Watch
Harry Beautyman's double in Sutton United's 3-1 win at Victoria Park set the tone for what has been the highest-scoring season of the midfielder's career.
Having been forced to sit out their defeat at Bromley, the
former Peterborough United and Northampton Town schemer returned during The U's
dominant win over Torquay United last time out.The 27-year-old will be aiming to maintain his excellent form
during the run-in and he's certainly a player Pools will have to keep an eye on
during Saturday's game.Head To Head
Saturday's game will be only the sixth competitive meeting between the two clubs – and Pools are still searching for their first win over Sutton United.
Three of the previous five encounters have ended all-square
but The U's ran out 3-1 winners when the sides met at The Vic on the opening
day of the current campaign.Pools had to come from two goals down to clinch a point
during their last visit to Gander Green Lane last March, Mark Kitching and Luke
James on target in the eventual 2-2 draw.Last Meeting
Pools 1 Sutton United 3
Saturday 3rd August 2019
Pools: Killip, Richardson (Featherstone 70), Kerr, Raynes, Crichlow-Noble (Kitching 80), Mafuta, Noble, Kennedy, Toure (Holohan 83), Kabamba, James.
Subs not used: Cunningham, Bale.
Sutton United: Butler, Bennett, Barden, Goodliffe (Matsuzaka 89), Collins, Bolarinwa (Ajiboye 59), Davis, Beautyman, Randall-Hurren, Milson, Jarvis (Bugiel 85).
Subs not used: Dudzinski, Dundas.
On The Whistle
Lewis Smith will take charge of his second Pools game of the season when he's the man in the middle for our visit to Sutton United on Saturday.
The official was promoted to the National League's list ofreferees during the summer and has so far presided over 15 games at this level.
Smith was also on the whistle for Pools' trip to Dover Athletic
back in January when the home side's last-gasp goal secured a point in a 1-1
draw at Crabble Athletic Ground.Live Commentary
Mark Simpson will be on-air as usual from Gander Green Lane on Saturday to bring you full live commentary of Pools' meeting with Sutton United.
You can join him here on the Official Website from 2.50pm –
and remember, our live coverage of every game is completely FREE so if you can't
make the game then make sure you're here with us.Click here now to access the live online commentary.
Buying Tickets
Tickets for Saturday's segregated game are available in advance online or on the day at Gander Green Lane.
Click here for all the information you need on buying tickets for Saturday.
Betting Odds
Sutton 8/5
Pools 8/5
Draw 43/20
Click here for a full list of markets and odds ahead of Saturday's game.