FC Halifax Town v Grimsby Town preview

Venue: The Shay

Date: Tuesday, January 11

Kick-off: 7.45pm

Referee: Scott Tallis. Took charge of Halifax’s 2-2 draw at Boreham Wood in September, and Grimsby’s 1-0 home defeat to Chesterfield in December. Has shown 30 yellow cards in 11 National League games this season.

Odds: Halifax win 4/5, draw 12/5, Grimsby win 11/4

Season so far

Halifax: P27, W16, D6, L5, F48, A27

Grimsby: P23, W11, D3, L9, F37, A27

Last five games

Halifax: King’s Lynn (h) W 2-0, Bradford Park Avenue (FAT a) D 3-3 (won on pens), Chesterfield (a) D 1-1, Grimsby (a) D 1-1, Eastleigh (h) W 4-0

Grimsby: Solihull (a) L 2-0, Dag & Red (a) L 3-2, Chesterfield (h) L 1-0, Stockport (a) L 4-0, Halifax (h) D 1-1

Scorers

Halifax: Billy Waters (13), Jordan Slew (10), Matty Warburton (7), Kian Spence (3), Jack Vale (3), Tom Bradbury (3), Kieran Green (2), Jesse Debrah, Martin Woods, Niall Maher, Tyrell Warren, Elliot Newby, Luke Summerfield, Jamie Allen

Grimsby: John McAtee (7), Ryan Taylor (6), Harry Clifton (4), Luke Waterfall (3), Will Bapaga (3), Michee Efete (2), Seb Revan (2), Lenell John-Lewis (2), Sam Bell, Giles Coke, Jordan Maguire-Drew, Ben Fox, Alex Hunt, Erico Sousa, Max Wright, David Longe-King

Manager: Paul Hurst. The former Rotherham defender earned promotion to the Football League with Grimsby in his first spell in charge of the club, but also lost the FA Trophy final to Halifax at Wembley. Is back for a second spell at Blundell Park after stints at Shrewsbury, Ipswich and Scunthorpe.

Last season: 24th in League Two.

One to watch: Winger Jordan Maguire-Drew scored the equaliser against Halifax in the reverse fixture last Monday and is a potential match-winner on his day.

Match facts: Halifax have won more games (13) than any other team in the National League so far this season, while no team in the fifth tier has won more home games than The Shaymen (8).

Only Boreham Wood and Chesterfield have conceded fewer goals in the division this season than Halifax (18).

Grimsby have won only once in their last ten matches.

The Mariners have lost their last six away games in a row, failing to score in four of them.

Last time they met: Kian Spence’s opener wasn’t enough for The Shaymen to take all three points at Blundell Park as the hosts equalised in added time earlier this month.

Follow all the action from the game on Tuesday with our live blog on the Courier website, where there will also be an on-the-whistle match report and post-match reaction from Town boss Pete Wild.

Tuesday’s National League fixtures:

Southend v Yeovil

Altrincham v Stockport

Boreham W v Wealdstone

Halifax v Grimsby

King’s Lynn v Notts Co