Harrogate Town play host to Newport County on Friday evening with the opportunity to extend their advantage at the top of the League Two table.
Despite an inconsistent start to the season, County can move into the top six if they prevail at the EnviroVent Stadium.
Match preview
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With games having been postponed due to coronavirus cases, it is fair to say that Harrogate have not enjoyed the most straightforward of starts to the new season.
However, the Yorkshire outfit have impressed since their return to action, recording four wins and a draw in all competitions since August 21.
While Simon Weaver may not have expected such a strong run of results, the standard has now been set as they bid to continue their rise up the English football pyramid.
Luke Armstrong has been the star of the season thus far through netting four goals, but midfielder George Thomson has also chipped in with three important assists.
Although Harrogate's schedule eases somewhat throughout September, it remains to be seen whether the extra preparation time will benefit or harm their growing momentum.
Newport would have wished for a break from action last month on the back of shipping 11 goals in matches against Southampton and Salford City.
However, to their credit, County have responded with a victory over Plymouth Argyle in the EFL Trophy and a comeback draw at home to Leyton Orient.
With his side still yet to record back-to-back wins this season, boss Michael Flynn will demand that his players improve in every area of the pitch.
Nevertheless, while the club sit just three points behind fifth position, this Newport squad perhaps deserve the benefit of the doubt at a time when they still possess a match in hand.
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Team News
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Weaver may see no reason to make any unforced changes to his Harrogate XI after the 3-1 win away at Mansfield Town.
Nine players have started every league game this season, with Lloyd Kerry also making five appearances with three outings coming from the substitutes' bench.
Jack Diamond should retain his place in the team after returning to the club on loan from Sunderland.
Dominic Telford could replace Timmy Abraham in the Newport side after netting during his 29-minute cameo against Orient.
Priestley Farquharson is also an option in defence having impressed off the substitutes' bench last time out.
Harrogate Town possible starting lineup:
Oxley; Burrell, McArdle, Hall, Page; Thomson, Falkingham, Pattison, Diamond; Armstrong, Muldoon
Newport County possible starting lineup:
Day; Farquharson, Dolan, Demetriou; Norman, Upson, Cooper, Haynes; Willmott, Fisher, Telford
We say: Harrogate Town 2-1 Newport County
Having already claimed two wins on the road, County will fancy their chances of causing a surprise on Friday night.
However, despite having a tendency to concede goals, we still expect Harrogate to edge this contest by the odd goal in three.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Newport County win with a probability of 39.3%. A win for Harrogate Town had a probability of 34.14% and a draw had a probability of 26.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Newport County win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.44%) and 0-2 (6.88%). The likeliest Harrogate Town win was 1-0 (9.45%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.63%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 5.2% likelihood.
