- Harrogate Town have won four and lost one of their last five home matches.
- Bury FC have won one and lost two of their three away matches in all competitions.
The Sulphurites to take the Shakers
Harrogate Town are 57/100 favourites to beat Bury FC at home this Tuesday and they may well be worth a punt at that price, but we're going to side with both teams to score at 7/10 in this match. The hosts are the more likely winners, but Bury have scored four goals in their last three away, so they shouldn't get shut out.
Simon Weaver has been Harrogate Town's boss since May 2009 and he has moulded a well-drilled side that always play on the front foot. They are a side with a high press and they look to get players behind the ball to spring attacks quickly and cause all sorts of trouble for opponents. On paper, they should be more than a match for a Bury side that are much more direct.
However, Paul Wilkinson's men are not a pushovers and the Shakers has scored goals wherever they've played since the former Preston and Carlisle United boss took over in July 2019. Bury are a 4-2-3-1 system with set piece threat and they like to get the ball forward to play at pace. They should be dangerous again this Tuesday.
The last head-to-head match-up finished 1-1 at Gigg Lane in FA Cup qualification and that should serve as a reminder that these are two teams that can trade blows. The Sulphurites should edge the match in the long-run, but it looks more likely that this will be an open, end-to-end contest rather than a cagey chess match with over 2.5 match goals at 67/100 is a little short.
Harrogate have won two of their last two at home and haven't suffered defeat, while Bury have 1 win and 2 losses in three away matches in all competitions. Weaver's side are more solid at the back and look more trustworthy here, but we feel that Bury have enough in the locker to nick a goal.
Harrogate beat Woking 1-0 away in the National League last Saturday before drawing 1-1 here against Bury in FA Cup qualification and we think that they can use that as a platform to build on this week.
The hosts have won 7, drawn 1 and lost 2 of their last 10 in all competitions and look full of beans coming into this. Bury have a similar record - W7, D1, L2 across their last 10 - so it seems that the most likely outcome is a Harrogate victory with goals at both ends.
