On Saturday, Shifnal Town visit Bower Fold for the first time, for the league clash. Shifnal are currently ninth in the table on forty-four points, four places and five points behind Celtic. Kick-off is 3pm.

Shifnal had an excellent start to life in the Northern Premier League West. After two initial losses, they went on to record only one loss in the next fifteen matches, propelling them up to second in the table, and they stayed up around the play-offs until Christmas. However, such are the fine margins in the league, two losses and two draws in their last five matches has seen them fall to ninth. Whilst their away form is not up to their home form, where they have won eight of their twelve matches, they have still won four and drawn six of their fourteen matches. With those six away draws, they have drawn more away matches than any other team.

Since losing 3-0 away at Bury back in mid-September, Shifnal have only failed to score once, a 1-0 away defeat to Nantwich in mid-November. By the same token, they have conceded in every match since they beat us 1-0 at their place. In total, they have kept four clean sheets, with only a 2-0 away win at Wythenshawe standing as their only clean sheet on the road. They have failed to score in three away matches. On average Shifnal score 1.3 goals per game away from home (1.7 overall), whilst conceding 1.4 goals per game on the road (1.2 overall). Their top scorers, with ten apiece are two of the longest names in non-league football: Matthew Barnes-Homer and Shaquille Leachman-Whittingham. Between them, they have scored nearly half of all Shifnal’s goals.

We’ve only met Shifnal once, back in October, when a closely-fought game was shaded by the home team right before half-time with a really well taken team goal.

In Shifnal’s last match, the 2-1 home defeat to Bootle, Shifnal lined up as:
1. Andrew Wycherley
2. Jack Fishman
3. Kane Lewis
4. Sam Giffiths
5. Louis Bradford
6. Kyle Bennett
7. Macauley Taylor
8. Kevin Da Veiga Monteiro
9. Kobe Hall
10. Elliott Durrell
11. Mathew Barnes-Homer

In Celtic’s last match, the 0-0 stalement away at Nantwich, Celtic lined up as:
1. Charlie Monks
2. Mike Koral
3. Kyle Brownhill
4. Aaron Chalmers
5. Jack Byrne
6. Jack Tinning
7. Charlie Doyle
8. Liam Tongue
9. Ruben Jerome
10. Andy Scarisbrick
11. Max Leonard

A win for Celtic could leave us third level on points with second, if results go our way. Runcorn (at home to Nantwich) are three points ahead of us, whilst Avro (at home to Congleton) are two points, and Bury (away at Chasetown) one point. However, a loss could see us drop to seventh, with Vauxhall (at home to Clitheroe) a point behind and Bootle (away at Khalsa) two points behind.