Altrincham v FC Halifax Town preview

Venue: Moss Lane

Date: Saturday, April 1

Kick-off: 3pm

Referee: David Rock has shown 90 yellow cards and five red cards in the 25 games he has officiated this season, which include 19 in Leagues One and Two. Rock took charge of Halifax's 0-0 draw at Braintree in September 2014 and their 3-2 defeat at Woking in 2015. The following season he was in charge of Town's 1-0 defeat at Bromley in March 2016 and their win at Forest Green Rovers in April 2016. He also officiated Halifax's 2-0 defeat at Ebbsfleet in September 2017 before progressing to become a Football League referee for the start of the 2019-20 campaign.

In the league this season

Altrincham: PL40 W14 D10 L16 F59 A71 GD-12 Pts52

Halifax: PL39 W12 D10 L17 F37 A45 GD-8 Pts46

Last five games

Altrincham: York (FAT a) W 2-1, York (a) W 2-1, Eastleigh (a) L 3-2, Southend (h) W 1-0, Notts County (h) L 2-0

Halifax: Gateshead (a) D 0-0, Aldershot (FAT a) W 2-0, Yeovil (h) D 1-1, Chesterfield (a) L 2-0, Aldershot (h) W 2-0

Scorers

Altrincham: Chris Conn-Clarke (10), Ryan Colclough (7), Marcus Dinanga (7), Jordan Hulme (6), Tyrese Sinclair (5), Regan Linney (4), Elliot Newby (4), Toby Mullarkey (4), Aaron Bennett (3), James Jones (3), Josh Lundstram (3), Elliot Osborne (2), Max Oyedele (2), Connor Jennings, Jake Cooper, Dan Malone, Egli Kaja, Lewis Baines, Zak Goodison, Miles Welch-Hayes, Junior Quitirna, Joe Hugill, Ed Jones

Halifax: Mani Dierseruvwe (10), Rob Harker (6), Jamie Cooke (6), Milli Alli (6), Harvey Gilmour (3), Jordan Slew (2), Kian Spence (2), Jesse Debrah (2), Matty Warburton (2), Tylor Golden (2), Jamie Stott (2), Angelo Capello, Festus Arthur, Yamen Osawe

Manager: Phil Parkinson was appointed in April 2017 and guided The Robins to two promotions in three seasons. Parkinson took Nantwich to FA Trophy semi-finals in 2016, when they lost to Halifax and has overseen Altrincham's transition from part-time to full-time while helping establish them as a National League club.

Last season: 14th in National League

One to watch: Attacking midfielder Tyrese Sinclair has scored five goals in 10 games for Altrincham since joining on loan from Rochdale. Sinclair was named as Mansfield's youth team's player of the year in 2018-19 having joined them from Blackburn Rovers, but left Mansfield at the end of last season. He scored three goals in 33 appearances for Rochdale before joining Altrincham on loan in February.

Head-to-head: Played 25, Altrincham wins 6, draws 8, Halifax wins 11

Last time they met: Goals from Milli Alli and Yamen Osawe earned Town a 2-2 draw at The Shay on New Year's Day.

Match facts: Only Yeovil have scored fewer goals in the National League this season than Halifax (37)

Altrincham striker Regan Linney, who has scored four goals in 12 appearances since joining the club from FC United, is cup-tied for the game, as is Halifax defender Adam Senior.

No team in the National League has scored fewer away goals this season than Halifax (12)

Altrincham have only drawn one of their last 17 matches, either winning or losing the other 16.

Halifax have played away from home in every round of this season's FA Trophy - at Guiseley, Harrow, Maidenhead and Aldershot.

The Shaymen have only won four of their 19 matches so far in 2023, excluding penalties.

Halifax have kept five clean sheets in their last seven outings, and have kept three clean sheets in their four FA Trophy appearances this season.

The winners on Saturday will receive £15,000 in prize money and guarantee themselves at least £30,000 more for appearing in the final, while the losers on Saturday will receive £5,000

If the game ends in a draw on Saturday, it will go straight to penalties.