- Bishop’s Stortford are 14th in the table with 36 points from 28 games, in line with their mid-to-bottom end standing as a club.
- Real Bedford sit 3rd in the Southern League Premier Division Central with 53 points from 26 matches.
- Bishop’s beat Real 1-0 at home in the FA Cup, but that was five months ago.
Two clubs on contrasting trajectories
Bishop’s Stortford will look to disrupt Real Bedford’s flow by locking up shop with a compact physical block that plays direct football and can hurt on set-pieces or quick transitions with some of their bigger and more physical players up front. They have been in mixed form in the league with one win, three draws and one defeat in their last five matches, while their home form is more middling than impressive across the course of the season with six wins, one draw and six defeats in 13 home league fixtures.
Steve Castle’s pragmatic and physical team have kept two clean sheets in a row at home, drawing 0-0 in their last two matches, and this could be a tight contest once again. Real Bedford are in fine form though with five league games unbeaten (W3, D2) following back-to-back wins in their previous two fixtures. Rob Sinclair’s men have played some brilliant football at times this season as they have risen up the league, dictating play with their possession-based and progressive style that seeks to stretch opposition teams out and create overloads in wide areas.
