- Team form: Chorley have won 4 of their last 5 games.
- Home form: Chorley are unbeaten in 5 home matches (W4, D1).
- Recent form: Worcester City have won only 3 of their last 10 matches.
Chorley have the momentum
Chorley are on a 4-game winning streak and they're playing well, so they should have a little more momentum than Worcester City in the FA Cup Qualification this Saturday. The Magpies are also in fine form at home, where they've won 2 back-to-back games, and they should be confident of advancing to the next round.
Chorley's last 3 results include a 2-1 home win against Spalding Utd in the National League North, a 4-1 win away at Barton Town FC in FA Cup Qualification and a 2-1 home victory versus AFC Telford United in the National League North, so they really do seem to have the formula for success in this competition.
Worcester City also have a cup win on their record after beating Kettering Town FC 3-1 away from home in FA Cup Qualification, but The Blues have lost their next 2 fixtures. They were beaten 1-0 away at Rushall Olympic in the Southern League Premier Division Central and then suffered a 3-1 loss at home to Stourbridge FC.
Worcester won’t have it all their own way
Tactical battle
Chris Cornes likes his teams to build from the back, to dominate the ball and to overload the wide areas, which is a decent approach in theory, but Chorley can disrupt that play. The Magpies set up in a 4-4-2 formation and bring two strikers to the party, so they can be direct when necessary and switch the tempo quickly. A game like this can be a bit of a chess match, but I expect Chorley to try and impose their game on Worcester from the off.
Form and odds
There's a real contrast between these two sides in terms of form, and that's the main reason why the home team, who are currently 1.52 to win, should be supported in this one.
That's why the form book points to a Chorley win, and that's our main selection here.
- The hosts have won 6, drawn 2 and lost 2 of their last 10 in all competitions.
- while The Blues have won just 3, drawn 3 and lost 4 during the same period.
Back the home side
Worcester must keep it tight and keep mistakes to a minimum if they want to have a chance of staying in this contest, but I think it's more likely that Chorley will be able to control the tie.
The hosts are allowing just 1.40 goals per-game at home in all competitions and the visitors, who are conceding 1.40 per-game on the road in all competitions, might struggle to carve out enough chances to win.
