- Bracknell have 3 points from 2 games (1 win, 1 loss) after opening day defeat and 2nd day win.
- Malvern have 1 point from 2 games (1 draw, 1 loss) after decent opener and poor 2nd day result.
- Head-to-head is a 2008 friendly, won 2-0 by Bracknell.
Bracknell to win at Larges Lane
The bookies make Bracknell the slight favourites here at 93/100, but Malvern at 109/50 is very tempting for this Saturday's clash at Larges Lane given the Hillsiders are coming off a heavy away defeat.
The Robins have played 2 games, won 1 and lost 1 to sit on 3 points in the Southern League Premier Division South, but the most significant factor about the two results to date is that they were total opposites.
New boss Adam Hopkins' men were thumped 7-0 away at Plymouth Parkway on the opening day, but then came back strongly to beat Gloucester City 3-2 on home turf a week later. A reaction to the heavy defeat was expected, but not the speed or quality of Bracknell's response.
Harry Cooksley's experience in the final third will do the club good, but Ruben Bartlett-Antwi has already notched 2 goals this season and looks like Bracknell's best outlet in the front third right now. Hopkins is the new man at the helm and will need to stabilise the ship, but this Bracknell side are direct, fast and high-tempo with pace out wide and the ability to turn the opposition over and hurt them on the counter.
An organised Malvern outfit to be a tough nut
Lee Hooper's men have 1 point from 2 after drawing 2-2 with Hanwell Town on the opening gameweek before falling apart in a 5-2 defeat at Taunton Town last time out. So they are just as inconsistent in form as their hosts at the moment.
But Hooper is no stranger to the step up after overseeing the club's promotion to the Southern League Premier Division South (Step 3), so we should have confidence in the fact that Malvern are a together unit who like to play on the front foot.
They like to get the ball wide and get runners into the box, so the midfield play should dictate how this game pans out, but Charlie Binns will have to be at his very best between the posts after letting in 5 at Taunton last time out.
Backing both teams to score at 9/20 looks a good bet here, but the hosts look the likelier winner in what should be an open, lively affair. Over 2.5 goals at 47/100 also appeals, while Harry Clark looks Malvern's best hope of scoring given his performances in the last two matches.
