Hartlepool United v FC Halifax Town preview

Venue: Victoria Park

Date: Friday, March 29

Kick-off: 3pm

Referee: Jamie O'Connor has shown 62 yellow cards and five red cards in 15 games this season. He was in charge for Halifax's 1-1 draw against Yeovil at The Shay last season and has officiated four Hartlepool matches this campaign - their 3-2 defeat at Barnet in August, their 2-2 draw at Altrincham in September, their 1-1 draw at Kidderminster in November and their 2-1 home win over York in January, in which he awarded Hartlepool a penalty.

Odds: Hartlepool win 5/4, draw 13/5, Halifax win 2/1

In the league this season

Hartlepool: 14th - PL40 W14 D7 L19 F60 A74 GD-14 Pts49

Halifax: 8th - PL39 W17 D11 L11 F50 A44 GD6 Pts62

Last five games

Hartlepool: Solihull (a) L 2-1, Barnet (h) L 2-1, Southend (h) D 0-0, Eastleigh (a) D 1-1, Gateshead (a) L 7-1

Halifax: Dag & Red (a) W 1-0, Bromley (a) L 2-0, Boreham Wood (h) W 2-1, Oxford City (a) W 2-0, Chesterfield (h) W 4-2

Scorers

Hartlepool: Dieseruvwe (21), Grey (10), Crawford (5), Cooke (5), Hastie (4), Featherstone (4), Mancini (3), Ferguson (2), Umerah (2), Seaman (2), Waterfall, Finney, Hancox, Stephenson

Halifax: Alli (7), Harker (6), Hoti (5), Summerfield (4), Wright (4), Senior (4), Oluwabori (4), Cosgrave (4), Cooke (2), Thomson-Sommers, Evans, Cummings, Keane, Cappello, Golden, Hunter, Stott, George

Manager: Former England striker Kevin Phillips won promotion with South Shields in his first managerial role before leaving the club in April last year. He succeeded John Askey in January and won four of his first five games. But he is now without a win in five.

Last season: 23rd in League Two

One to watch: Mani Dieseruvwe was Halifax's top scorer last season with 14 goals, but he has already well surpassed that tally with Hartlepool. Only three players have scored more than him in the fifth tier this season, with the forward netting against The Shaymen in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign.

Head-to-head: Played 131, Hartlepool wins 50, draws 23, Halifax wins 58

Last time they met: Adam Senior and Max Wright scored either side of Man Dieseruvwe's equaliser as Halifax won 2-1 at The Shay in October.

Match facts: Halifax are on their best run of form this season having won seven of their last eight matches

Only Eastleigh and bottom club Oxford have conceded more goals in the National League this season than Hartlepool (74)

Only Southend have conceded fewer goals in the division this season than Halifax (44), while only Bromley have conceded fewer away goals than Town (22)

Halifax have a dreadful record at Hartlepool, having won only once in their last 15 visits.

Hartlepool have only kept one clean sheet in their last 11 matches.

Both teams have only failed to score once in their last ten games.

Friday's National League fixtures:

Woking v Eastleigh

Gateshead v Rochdale

York v Chesterfield

Boreham W v Dag & Red

Ebbsfleet v Southend

Maidenhead v Aldershot

Oldham v Fylde

Kidderminster v Altrincham

Hartlepool v Halifax

Oxford C v Wealdstone

Dorking W v Bromley

Solihull M v Barnet