League Two strugglers Hartlepool United will be bidding to book their spot in the second round of the FA Cup when they take on National League side Solihull Moors on Saturday afternoon.

The visitors are currently 23rd in the League Two table, boasting just 12 points from their opening 17 matches, while Solihull are fourth in the National League table, having collected 30 points from their first 17 games.

Match preview

Solihull Moors came close to being promoted into the Football League last season, as they finished third in the National League, but they were beaten 2-1 by Grimsby Town in the final of the playoffs.

As a result, the Moors are again competing in the fifth tier of English football, but it has been a positive start to the campaign for the club, who are currently fourth in the table, boasting 30 points from 17 matches.

Neal Ardley's side are 10 points behind leaders Notts County, though, so they might need to navigate their way through the playoffs in order to earn promotion to League Two for next season.

Solihull are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, which included a 1-0 victory over Basford United in the last round of the FA Cup, with Alex Reid hitting the winner.

Ardley's team will enter this match off the back of successive draws, though, sharing the points with Gateshead and Maidstone United in their last two fixtures in the National League.

Hartlepool, meanwhile, sacked Paul Hartley as head coach in the middle of September due to the team's disappointing form, and Keith Curle remains in charge on an interim basis.

Curle has won two, drawn two and lost five of his nine games since being appointed as caretaker manager, and the 58-year-old will again lead the team into this weekend's FA Cup contest.

Hartlepool actually lost five games in a row between October 8 and October 25, but they will enter this match off the back of a morale-boosting 2-1 home success over Grimsby Town.

A total of 12 points from 17 matches has left them in 23rd position in the League Two table, but they are level on points with 22nd-placed Rochdale, and there is still plenty of football left to be played this term.

Pools have actually been victorious in three of their last four matches in the FA Cup, but they lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace in their last game in the competition back in February.

Team News

Reid featured as a late substitute in Solihull's league clash with Maidstone on Tuesday, but he is expected to be back in the starting team for this contest, having hit the winner in the previous round.

Head coach Ardley will need to assess the fitness of his players before naming his starting side, but there is also expected to be a position in the XI for Joseph Sbarra.

Ryan Barnett also featured off the bench against Maidstone last time out, but he started the clash with Basford United in the last round and is likely to be named in the side here.

As for Hartlepool, Curle will make changes from the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Grimsby in the league last time out.

However, there are not expected to be wholesale alterations, as the interim head coach will know the importance of putting a run of wins together at this stage of the season.

Kyle Letheren is in line for a spot between the sticks, while Jake Hastie and Theo Robinson are also likely to come in for starting roles on Saturday afternoon.

Solihull Moors possible starting lineup:
Boot; Coker, Howe, Kelleher, Clarke; Whelan, Sbarra, Maycock, Barnett; Kelly, Reid

Hartlepool United possible starting lineup:
Letheren; Murray, Lacey, Ferguson; Tumilty, Hastie, Sylla, Oduor; Cooke, Umerah, Robinson

We say: Solihull Moors 2-1 Hartlepool United

Solihull's recent form has been impressive, but the same cannot be said for Hartlepool, who have had a difficult start to the season. We are expecting a close match on Saturday afternoon but believe that the home side will progress to the second round of the competition courtesy of a narrow success.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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