- Tadley Calleva are unbeaten in this season's FA Cup qualification campaign, beating Hamble Club 3-1, Laverstock & Ford 3-1, and Bishop's Cleeve 1-0, drawing 3-3 with Sutton Common Rovers last time out in the league.
- Dartford are a couple of rungs higher up the football pyramid and have the all-round quality and depth to control this FA Cup Third Qualifying Round match-up.
- Dartford are in full flow at the moment and arrive here off the back of a 3-0 win, a 2-0 victory, a 4-2 success, and a 2-0 win.
A big step up for Tadley
Dartford head to Barlow's Park as 8/25 favourites to take down local heroes Tadley Calleva on Saturday and there is very little to say about this cup tie that doesn't revolve around the big gap between the clubs in the football ladder.
The Combined Counties League Premier Division South side are enjoying a decent season so far, but they are a mid-table Combined Counties League Premier Division South side, around 10th with 11-12 points on the board after their matches.
Brad Neal is their most serious threat up top, although Charlie Barlow, Jordan Goater and Kyan Stephens provide multiple other options for the Tadley players to play into. That has helped them progress this far in the FA Cup and they have a practical, forward-thinking set up that is well suited to knockout football.
Darts have the tools to take down Tadley
Dartford have made a great start to the season under Ben Greenhalgh, who has translated his energetic attacking style of play to the players and they have responded with a great deal of vigour in all competitions. Max Fiddes is the club's most reliable goal source, banging in a couple of braces and a match winner in the cup already, but the Darts can hurt opposition in several areas.
Greenhalgh has added some of his own goals and assists to the team's overall tally and is probably the best football brain on the pitch in each of their games. Ryan Sandford has been a reliable last line, but has also made enough saves to keep the Darts on course for some impressive results.
Dartford are near the top of the Isthmian League Premier Division with 18 points from their first eight games, while some live scoreboard trackers show them on 21 points from nine matches. Either way, they have recorded wins including beating Walton Casuals 3-0, Cray Valley 2-0, Kingstonian 4-2, Wealdstone 2-0, Boreham Wood 3-0 and Welling United 2-1, all in the last month.
Darts should have the quality to progress
Tadley are direct, compact and set-piece orientated, but Dartford are possession-based, patient from the back and can play a high-tempo game when they want to through the wide areas and fast transitions. It's a style clash that will be fascinating to watch and Tadley will do all they can to muddy up the game, but Dartford have the all-round strength and firepower to break them down and win.
The Darts will be looking to control the game and keep it tidy, so we are siding with a clean sheets away win as the most likely outcome in this match, which is unlikely to be a goal fest. Tadley have made it this far on home energy and set-piece hustle rather than by outclassing opponents for 90 minutes and there is no reason to think this will be any different.
