Ebbsfleet United v FC Halifax Town preview

Venue: Stonebridge Road Stadium

Date: Saturday, November 5

Kick-off: 3pm

Referee: Ed Duckworth has shown 22 yellow cards and one red card in six National League games this season, which is his first officiating at that level. He took charge of Halifax's 1-0 win against York earlier this season.

Odds: Ebbsfleet win 4/5, draw 14/5, Halifax win 10/3

In the league this season:

Ebbsfleet: PL15 W12 D3 L0 F38 A12 GD26 Pts39

Halifax: PL16 W5 D3 L8 F14 A24 GD-10 Pts18

Last five games

Ebbsfleet: Sevenoaks Town (FAC h) W 2-0, Welling United (h) D 1-1, St Albans City (h) W 3-1, Hemel Hempstead Town (a) D 1-1, Havant and Waterlooville (a) W 1-0

Halifax: Maidstone (a) D 1-1, St Ives (FAC a) W 3-0, Dagenham and Redbridge (h) W 2-0, Wrexham (a) L 3-1, Oldham (h) W 2-1

Scorers

Ebbsfleet: Dom Poleon (14), Greg Cundle (6), Rakish Bingham (6), Toby Edser (5), Darren McQueen (3), Craig Tanner (3), Shaq Coulthirst, Jack Paxman, Sido Jombati, Haydn Hollis, Kieran Monlouis, Chris Solly, Luke O'Neill

Halifax: Mani Dierseruvwe (8), Rob Harker (2), Jordan Slew (2), Kian Spence, Harvey Gilmour, Jamie Cooke, Angelo Capello, Jesse Debrah

Manager: German Dennis Kutrieb was appointed in June 2020, joining from Tennis Borussia Berlin, and signed a new two-year contract in the summer. He led Ebbsfleet to the National League South play-off final last season, where they were beaten by Dorking Wanderers after extra-time.

Last season: 2nd in National League South

One to watch: Striker Dom Poleon, who joined Ebbsfleet in February 2021, has played more than 200 times in the Football League and was on the books at Chelsea and Leeds as a youngster. Has also played for Bradford, Oldham and Sheffield United amongst others.

Head to head: Played 18, Ebbsfleet wins 9, draws 2, Halifax wins 7

Last time they met: Gozie Ugwu scored the only goal as Ebbsfleet won 1-0 at The Shay back in March 2020.

Match facts: Only Torquay have scored fewer goals in the National League this season than Halifax (14).

Halifax have only won two of their nine away matches this season.

Halifax have only won twice in nine previous visits to Ebbsfleet.

Only Yeovil have scored fewer home league goals in the fifth tier this season than Halifax (7).

Ebbsfleet are yet to lose a game this season in all competitions.

No-one has scored more or conceded fewer at home in the National League South this season than Ebbsfleet.

The winners of Saturday's game will receive £41,000 in prize money.

If Saturday's game ends in a draw, the replay will be held on Tuesday, November 15 at The Shay.

Saturday's FA Cup first round fixtures:

South Shields v Forest Green Rovers

Bolton Wanderers v Barnsley

AFC Fylde v Gillingham

Barnet v Chelmsford City

Barrow v Mansfield Town

Boreham Wood v Eastleigh

Bradford City v Harrogate Town

Bristol Rovers v Rochdale

Burton Albion v Needham Market

Buxton v Merthyr Town

Carlisle United v Tranmere Rovers

Charlton Athletic v Coalville Town

Cheltenham Town v Alvechurch

Chesterfield v Northampton Town

Chippenham Town v Lincoln City

Crawley Town v Accrington Stanley

Crewe Alexandra v Leyton Orient

Doncaster Rovers v King's Lynn Town

Ebbsfleet United v FC Halifax Town

Fleetwood Town v Oxford City

Gateshead v Stevenage

Grimsby Town v Plymouth Argyle

Maidenhead United v Dagenham & Redbridge

Milton Keynes Dons v Taunton Town

Newport County v Colchester United

Peterborough United v Salford City

Port Vale v Exeter City

Shrewsbury Town v York City

Solihull Moors v Hartlepool United

Stockport County v Swindon Town

Sutton United v Farnborough

Weymouth v AFC Wimbledon

Wycombe Wanderers v Walsall