Kidderminster Harriers and Boreham Wood renew acquaintances on Saturday afternoon with both teams looking to boost their National League survival hopes.

While the visitors currently sit in 17th place in the standings, Kidderminster are 23rd, five points adrift of safety.

Match preview

In their first season back in the National League, Kidderminster would have had high hopes of making an impact and restoring the glory years back to Aggborough.

However, just four wins and 19 goals have been recorded from 26 matches, leaving Russell Penn's side with plenty of work ahead if they wish to remain in the fifth tier.

To their credit, just two defeats have come in six games, both by one-goal margins to Maidenhead United and Southend United respectively, but three of the other four matches have ended in draws.

The most recent came against their upcoming opponents on Boxing Day, with Kidderminster salvaging a point on their travels courtesy of a last-gasp penalty.

While it was a point gained and it kept them off the bottom of the table, six matches have now gone by without an away win, heaping the pressure on Kidderminster to improve on just two victories being posted in 13 home fixtures.

From the perspective of Boreham Wood, they would have felt that a promotion campaign was a foregone conclusion with the likes of Wrexham and Notts County out of the way.

Instead, last season's playoff semi-finalists find themselves 11 points adrift of the top seven and just four points above the drop zone, moving away from the latter needing to be their primary focus.

Luke Garrard has witnessed his side win just twice in eight games, at home to the 18th and 21st-placed teams in the division respectively, and confidence is fragile after their recent 6-0 defeat at Barnet.

Although Garrard will view this contest as a must-win, defeat would see Boreham Wood slip to within five points of 23rd position, one that would bring cause for concern for both the team and the prospect's of Garrard remaining at the helm despite his previous success.

Team News

Having come off the substitutes' bench to score Kidderminster's equaliser on Boxing Day, Ashley Hemmings will hope to earn a recall.

If a change is made, Gold Omotayo is most likely to drop out of the team in the final third, with the rest of the side potentially staying the same.

Garrard was able to only name two outfield substitutes for the reverse fixture so changes will be few and far between here.

Angelo Balanta could be restored to the midfield to take the spot of Mo Sagaf, who had replaced him for the Boxing Day meeting.

Jahmari Clarke will also be considered for a start in attack if Garrard wishes to further freshen up his side.

Kidderminster Harriers possible starting lineup:
Dibble; Pearson, Preston, Penny, Richards, Robinson, Byrne, Lambert, Hobson, Morgan-Smith, Hemmings

Boreham Wood possible starting lineup:
Ashmore; Ilesanmi, Coxe, Sass-Davies, Robinson, Sousa, Whelan, Balanta, Marsh, Ndlovu, Clayden

We say: Kidderminster Harriers 1-3 Boreham Wood

With neither team being particularly pleased with the draw earlier this week, we expect caution to be thrown to the wind here. There is less pressure on the shoulders of Boreham Wood, and that could see them earn a convincing victory, one that will give them some extra breathing space.


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