Sleaford will be looking to make this Christmas a Merry one, by securing a good result on the road in Nottinghamshire. This will be the third meeting between the sides already this year, as Sleaford have played the opponents in the FA Vase and league. Both of those days were highly contrasting, as in the Vase The Greens crashed out in a 4-0 defeat, but in the league cruised to victory 3-0 at home.

After last week’s result against South Normanton, where a late Jonathan Timmins goal was not enough to avoid defeat, Sleaford remain thirteenth in the league, with the opportunity to jump up a few places should results around the grounds go their way.

Reflecting on last week, manager Matt Evans believes there were positives to take from the game, even if it ended in defeat “Obviously the scoreline is the stat that matters most but there are many things about our performances that we are increasingly pleased with” he said. “Not many sides will win every game so we have to accept that drawing and losing will be part of our journey. Last week, we didn’t get opened up. With goals came from set pieces and we know how to fix those. That’s progress for the lads”.

Having already faced Clipstone twice this season, Evans wants to prepare for the game by keeping a focus on themselves. “The team was thrown together for the Vase game due to absences so it wasn't a true reflection of where we are at.

“The win also flattered us in some areas so its important we don’t get too carried away with either of those games. We must focus on ourselves and the targets we have set”.

Ahead of the festivities and new year celebrations, Evans provides an update on his squad in an important period of the season for Sleaford. “Oli Fields only has limited availability whilst he is home from Australia, so we won't have him. Lewis Rowland is also unavailable for a couple of weeks. Josh Wilson remains injured although George [Pullen] is confident that he's making good progress and could be back early in the new year.

‘We've got a couple of trialists in and been offered a couple of loans from teams higher up the pyramid. Whilst this doesn't help our long-term plans, it might help us through the next few weeks so we will assess all options and judge each one on merit. What I don’t want us to do is panic and sign players that don’t help us or disrupt the progress of our group.

Opposition Report

In terms of form, Clipstone have seen high scoring games but mixed fortunes in form has seen stagnation in the table, currently placed eighteenth. A 4-3 loss last time out against Holwell Sports followed a win of the same scoreline against Gedling MW. The Cobras’ last home game was a 3-2 loss to Coalville. Their last five home games have shown that it will not be easy for Sleaford on Saturday. Three wins out of five were achieved against West Bridgford, Dunkirk and most impressively, Retford albeit in the Notts Senior Cup. Their two losses in that run were against high flyers Stapleford the aforementioned game against Coalville Town.

Key Details

Location: The Lido Ground, Clipstone Rd E, Clipstone, Mansfield NG21 9AB
Time: 3:00pm KO
Pricing: Adult £5 | Concessions £3 | Juniors £1 (U16) | Under 6's Free