Preview: Eastleigh v Harriers

The curtain comes down on a turbulent season this evening with Harriers' first-ever visit to Eastleigh.

A draw for the hosts should be enough for them to clinch a place in the play-offs unless Macclesfield can beat Torquay by twelve goals.  Harriers can creep in to the top half with victory but would need Torquay to take a heavy defeat from Macclesfield and Chester to lose to relegated Nuneaton.

Gary Whild will be without midfielders Callum Gittings and Aman Verma and defender James Fry with injury; Luke Maxwell could return in the centre of the park after an impressive performance in the Worcestershire Senior Cup Final in midweek although both Jac Byrne and Josh O'Keefe are likely to play too.

Eastleigh's first season in the top tier of non-league football has been a successful one which will likely end in a place in the play-offs.  They are in good form at the moment with four wins from their last four games and five in the last six.  Manager Richard Hill is without the injured Michael Green but Dean Beckwith and Paul Reid are coming back from injury and illness and could both feature.  Former Harrier James Constable is likely to play, however.

This season is the first that the two clubs have met and already Eastleigh have two victories with wins at Aggborough in the FA Cup and Conference 1-0 and 3-1 respectively.  Harriers have yet to find the net themselves against The Spitfires as the only goal was an own goal.

I expect Harriers to line-up as follows (4-4-2): Lewis; Hodgkiss, Nicholson, Grimes, Kelly; Green, Byrne, Maxwell, Reffell; Hughes, Wright.
Subs (from): Digie, Boyle, Reid, Obeng, O'Keefe, J. Singh, Spencer, Tunnicliffe, Asante, Forsyth, Harrison, Sweeney, Millichamp, Whitcombe.
Missing (injured): Fry, Verma, Gittings.
Missing (on-loan): Styche, Williams, Hales, G. Singh, Gowling.

Refereeing the game today will be Lee Swabey from Plymouth.  This will be his third Harriers game of the season and ninth overall.  This season he has done the home defeat to Grimsby and the goalless draw at Nuneaton.  In total he has refereed one Harriers win, five draws and a defeat.

This afternoon's forecast for the south coast suggests there will be light rain with a temperature of 14°C.