Match Preview

Dino Maamria takes his Nuneaton Town side to Ashton-under-Lyne on Saturday for just their fourth ever visit to the Tameside Stadium. The Boro' face a Curzon Ashton side that they've failed to beat in their six previous matches, losing five straight prior to the 1-1 draw at Liberty Way earlier this season. That match featured both sides scoring penalties, Ashley Chambers in the first half, Niall Cummins in the second.

Chambers, Boro's top-scorer this season, scored in the 2-1 defeat late season as well, handing Nuneaton a second minute lead that they couldn't convert in to points as Matty Warburton and Joe Guest were on target for the hosts in the second half. Both sides have had struggles this season as 'The Nash' recently went through a stretch that saw them win just once in 13 games and drop in to the bottom three.

That streak ended when Curzon won 3-0 at AFC Telford United in mid-February, a result that they followed-up with an impressive 4-1 home win over play-off chasing York City. Top-scorer Cummins struck a first half hat-trick that day, taking his total to 15 goals in the League this season, just three behind Chambers.

Curzon Ashton's most recent result was a 3-1 defeat away to Southport, whereas the Boro' won 2-1 away to Telford at a freezing New Bucks Head on Tuesday evening. That win was Nuneaton's fourth straight away from home, part of an eight match unbeaten streak that stretches back almost two months.

Maamria now has a settled side, and after making it through Tuesday without any fresh injury concerns, his starting 11 is unlikely to look much different to the team that won in Shropshire midweek. That is in stark contrast to the team that faced Curzon in November, almost half of that matchday squad are unlikely to feature, with one of them out on loan and four of them having left the club altogether.

Nuneaton currently sit in 11th place, with 43 points from 32 games, reaching the top half of the table for the first time this season. Curzon Ashton are 17th with 37 points from 31 games, just three points above the drop zone. They have scored the sixth fewest goals and only six teams have conceded more. Only three teams have scored fewer than Nuneaton, but they do have the ninth best defensive record in the league and have only had their backline breached three times in the past eight games.