- Curzon and Alfreton played out a six-goal thriller in April, where the visitors drew 3-3.
- The two sides are tied on eight wins apiece in 21 H2H clashes across all competitions, with five draws.
- Curzon are 77/100 favourites with Alfreton 291/100 for this opening-day clash.
Curzon and Town should mix it up at Tameside Stadium
Curzon Ashton and Alfreton Town meet as ex-National League North sides in the opening round of fixtures in the Northern Premier League 2026-2027 Premier Division, so there is a proper step-3 heavyweight feel to the fixture at Tameside Stadium on Saturday. Curzon are 77/100 odds-on favourites to beat Town, who are a whopping 291/100 to win this season-opener, but our fancy is on a draw here at 64/25.
The two clubs are tied at eight wins each in 21 games across all competitions and have drawn five times, so the head-to-head (H2H) balance makes little case for the hosts' heavy odds. The last two meetings as Curzon nicked a 2-1 win with a 90+5 winner when Alfreton last visited Ashton-under-Lyne in December 2025 before the sides shared the spoils in a 3-3 thriller in the return fixture back in April.
That game typifies the kind of games that Alfreton like to be involved in as Jake Buxton's compact and results-focused unit are more than happy to sit narrow and sting their opponents on the counter or from dead-balls. Curzon are more of a pragmatic outfit under Adam Barton's watch as they prefer to keep the foot on the gas and try to press opponents out of their own half while possessing a physical presence for their set pieces.
Alfreton can give Curzon a game
Adam Barton's dual role as player and manager also gives the hosts the edge in terms of set-piece nous and ability to control the game from a defensive or midfield position, but Alfreton have an experienced skipper in Adam Lund to organise at the back and transition weapons such as Billy Fewster, Siyabonga Ligendza and Joseph Dodoo to make Curzon pay if they overrun them.
The evidence for the match odds being too short on Curzon Ashton is also seen in Alfreton Town's results over the last few games. Town's form across all competitions was inconsistent, with a mix of draws and narrow results before the 3-3 draw with Curzon.
That's because Curzon can deliver a hammer blow, but they also tend to gift their opponents a way back into the contest with their leaky defense.
Both teams to score worth a small wager
The draws against Radcliffe and Alfreton and the defeat to Southport should teach us that Curzon's games are usually close affairs and that they rarely have things all their own way. Adam Lund and Harry Burgoyne were the experienced foundation to Alfreton's survival push last term and the big keeper will keep his side in all their games this season.
Warm and clear conditions for football should make for a free-flowing game in Ashton-under-Lyne, but we feel the draw makes more sense than backing the home side. A 1-1 draw is a likely outcome and we will also have a small wager on both teams to score at 17/25 because that is the way these sides have traded blows in recent H2H meetings and the evidence for the home team is not strong enough to take them to win outright.
