Salford Cityvs.Harrogate

While the hosts are mathematically safe in the relegation battle, the visitors can earn a top-half finish with three points this weekend.

Match preview

After finishing in the playoffs last season, Salford are a long way from where they want to be this time as they head into the final game of the campaign in 20th.

It has been a season to forget for the Ammies, with the Manchester-based club struggling to pick up consistent results, which saw them dragged into the relegation battle.

Salford have managed to secure their safety in League Two for next season, boasting a nine-point gap between them and the bottom two, but the fan expectation is undoubtedly much higher than that.

The focus for the club will already be on preparing for next season, but wrapping up this campaign with a victory for the supporters will be necessary to the team, and they do head into this on the back of a win.

The Ammies defeated Newport County last weekend by a goal to nil, but they did have to be patient with that as Matt Smith found the back of the net in the 92nd minute.

Harrogate comes into this game much higher in the table, and considering a victory could lead to them finishing in the top half, there is plenty to play for.

Depending on other results, the visitors could finish as high as 10th, but after consecutive games without a win heading into this weekend, improvements will be needed.

Simon Weaver's men played an eight-goal thriller against MK Dons last weekend, but despite leading twice, Harrogate ended up being defeated 5-3.

Scoring three times in one game was a rare situation for the Sulphurites, as finding the back of the net has been an issue for the team throughout this season, which is why they boast the fifth-lowest number of goals out of every team in the league.

However, they had no problem scoring against Salford the last time the two teams met, as Harrogate defeated the Ammies 3-2, a result that the travelling fans would be happy to see repeated this weekend.

Salford City League Two form:

W

L

L

L

L

W

Harrogate Town League Two form:

D

W

L

W

D

L

Team News

After scoring his 25th goal of the season against Newport, Smith will likely retain his place in the Salford starting XI this weekend.

Declan John returned to the Ammies squad last time out, but Liam Shepard is still rehabbing his injury and will not feature again this season.

Liam Gibson was unable to feature against MK Dons due to suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury, and it is unlikely that he will be able to appear in the final game of the season.

Despite that, Weaver has a fully fit squad for Saturday, providing him plenty of options.

Salford City possible starting lineup:

Cairns; Ingram, Mariappa, Tilt, Garbutt; Watson, Watt, Lund; McAleny, McLennan, Hendry

Harrogate Town possible starting lineup:

Belshaw; Abu, O'Connor, McDonald, Foulds; Dooley, Thomson, Cornelius, Daly, Odoh; Muldoon

We say: Salford City 0-2 Harrogate Town

With Salford having already achieved their goal of securing League Two survival, they have very little to play for this weekend.

Considering that the visitors could end up finishing in the top half with a victory, Harrogate could take all three points to wrap up the season.

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