Unibet's National League North And South Preview

It’s not quite D-Day yet, but Dartford and Darlington are spelling out their ambitions.

What has the second match day of the New Year got in store for us? Unibet guide us through the pick of Saturday’s matches.

All your odds across the Vanarama National League are available at Unibet. 18+ begambleaware.org

Brackley Town vs Chester - National League North

The ‘what ifs’ are already kicking in - and Chester will probably be kicking themselves.

Four dropped points over the festive period to bottom side AFC Telford would probably do that to you, but going into 2023 well placed for a promotion challenge has still exceeded expectation.

Brackley didn’t think they’d be sitting where they are now when they made a tough decision to part with Kevin Wilkin almost three months in.

They went top on New Year’s Day before Darlington clawed their way back above them by savagely ripping Scarborough apart. But the Saints have scored fewer goals than anyone in the top ten and need to start finding their shooting boots.

One to watch: Adam Rooney (Brackley Town)
Don’t miss: Unibet’s National League North odds

Click here for all the National League North fixtures.

Havant & Waterlooville vs Braintree Town - National League South

Would the real Havant & Waterlooville please stand up!

Brilliant one minute, bad the next. The Hawks have shown they are every inch the title challengers in some games, but have fallen short in others.

Three defeats in their last five and two wins show consistency will be key if they’re going to keep the heat on, but if they win their games in hand they go level on points with leaders Dartford.

Is it a good time to be facing Braintree?

The Iron - having their best season for a few years - have not won a game in five.

But while they’re finding victories hard to come by, the Essex club are also still hard to beat.

They’ve drawn four of those five matches and posed a problem at rivals Chelmsford City on New Year’s Day.

The gap to the play-offs is just two points, a far cry from the struggles of years gone by.

Can they now throw another spanner in the works for a title contender? What a weekend it’s going to be!

One to watch: Charlie Ruff (Havant & Waterlooville)
Don’t miss: Unibet’s National League South odds

Click here for all the National League South fixtures.