By Billy Taylor

League action is finally back at Kayte Lane, as Bishops Cleeve look to continue their impressive form against Bideford.

The Mitres haven’t played a game of league football since their 2-0 victory away to Inkberrow on the 25th of August.

And although they’ve been out of the league for a while, it hasn’t stumbled their position, as Cleeve sit in second place, only one point behind league leaders Malvern, and the Mitres also have two games in hand over the Hillsiders.

Cleeve have still been busy without the league, as they’ve played in the FA Cup, FA Trophy and the Gloucestershire Senior Challenge Cup, the most recent one being the latter. Ross Langworthy continued his impressive goal-scoring form with a 15-minute hat-trick, as the Mitres made the quarter-finals and will be taking on Bristol Rovers developmental in the next round.

Meanwhile, Bideford are sitting on the edge of the relegation zone, having only played four games this season. Their only win came from a 2-0 victory over Melksham two weeks ago.

Even though their league form doesn’t look pretty from the outside, they have been doing well recently. With a 3-1 win over Mousehole in the FA Trophy, a 2-0 win over Melksham, and a penalty shootout win over Swindon Supermarine last weekend to secure themselves a place in the third qualifying round. So they could definitely be a surprise threat for Paul Collicutt’s men.

The two sides have played each other multiple times over years, and in their last five, Cleeve have only won one, with a 2-1 victory over the Robins back in 2023. Meanwhile, Bideford came away the victors in both fixtures last season with two 1-0 victories over the Mitres.