Match Preview – Chester FC vs Bradford (Park Avenue) – The Green Army are back on the road as they travel to the English-Welsh border this weekend in the Vanarama National League North.
Bradford (Park Avenue) will be looking for consecutive away wins for the first time since March 2019 when they take on Chester FC at The Deva Stadium on Saturday.
Mark Bower’s men head to Chester in fine form following a hard-fought 2-1 victory at home to high-flying Gloucester City on a wet Monday evening under the lights of the Horsfall Community Stadium, a result which saw them bag a fourth win in five games. The three points meant Avenue climbed out of the relegation zone and into 19th, however, Tuesday’s National League North results elsewhere were less than favourable as points gained for Kettering Town and Boston United pushed the Avenue back down to 21st.
Regardless of this, the picture remains optimistic for Avenue who are currently one of the in-form teams in the National League North. Only last weekend’s opponents Brackley Town, who sit joint-top of the table, have gained more points in the last five games. Bower will also be hoping he can call on in-form striker Jacob Blyth for the trip to Chester. The number nine was withdrawn early in the second half on Monday after scoring the opener and has netted three goals in his last four games for the Avenue.
This weekend’s hosts are also enjoying a good run of form themselves, having picked up ten points out of a possible twelve on their current four-game unbeaten run. However, the Avenue will be looking to take advantage of Chester’s inconsistent home form, as The Seals are yet to register back-to-back wins this season.
Avenue’s defence will be keen to shackle Chester’s top scorer Kurt Willoughby. The 25-year-old, who joined Chester in the summer from last season’s play-off winners York City, has netted six goals in fifteen appearances this season, averaging 0.41 goals per game.
The head-to-head table shows Avenue and Chester all square. Since the formation of Chester FC as a phoenix club to the former Chester City FC in 2010, the sides have met on nine occasions in the National League North, sharing three wins apiece and three draws. The most recent meeting came in the penultimate game of last season, with Chester emerging 4-0 winners over an Avenue side that had already secured National League North football for another season. The Green Army will be hoping to swing the head-to-head table in their favour this Saturday with the prospect of once again climbing out of the league’s relegation places.
Kick off: Saturday 5th November 2022, 3pm
Stadium address: Deva Stadium, Bumpers Lane, Chester, CH1 4LT – Directions to the Deva Stadium can be found here
Tickets: In advance online purchased here – Adults £17.00, Concessions £14.00, 18-21yo £12.00, 12-17yo £3.00, Under 12s FREE.
Please note there will be a £1 increase on these prices when buying online, paying at the turnstile or purchasing from the ticket office on the day of a game.
Writer – Stephen Grimshaw
