National League preview and tips: Goals expected at Altrincham as Notts County continue title push
- George Dempsey
- 28 March 2023
The National League title race has taken many twists and turns recently, but Notts County know that taking all three points from Tuesday's trip to Altrincham is crucial for their promotion ambitions.
With Wrexham enjoying an evening off, County can ill afford to drop points and leave the league leaders with two games in hand. While they were battering Scunthorpe 4-0 at the weekend, Wrexham were putting York to the sword at the Racecourse Ground, 3-0.
The teams have matched each other stride for stride over the course of this season, but County have slipped up twice on their travels this month. A pair of 1-1 draws at Bromley and Barnet are not poor results in isolation, but they did leave the door open for Wrexham.
Given the landscape of the remaining fixtures, defeat here could leave them three points adrift, and offer Wrexham the possibility of opening a nine-point gap at the top.
A victory, on the other hand, would put County on top with five games left to play. Wrexham will play the first of their games in hand on Saturday, and then the sides will clash in the second fixture of the Easter weekend, after which County will have three games left.
Altrincham currently occupy 15th place in the National League table with little to no chance of making the play-offs. Despite winning 10 of their last 15 at home, a patchy away record coupled with the Robins' early season form seems to have cost them dearly.
An 85th-minute Eoghan O'Connell goal handed Wrexham a 2-1 victory at the J Davidson Stadium back in February, and that can serve as a warning to County that Altrincham are no pushover.
They've found the net 32 times in 19 home games this season and that's a record that stands up against most teams in the National League.
While Notts County have picked up an impressive 45 points on their travels, if something is to be their downfall, it may be the number of goals they concede.
They've kept just three clean sheets on their travels in the 2022/23 season, meaning 17 of their opponents have found the net at least once. Six of them have found the net twice, but 19th-placed Dorking remain the only team to have beaten them.
A lot of County's issues at the back are little to do with the quality they have in those areas, and more because of their non-negotiable style of play. No one averages more shots per 90 minutes than the Magpies.
It's a little misleading to see that County also allow fewer chances on goal than anyone else in the league, but a number of those have been set-piece goals and goals in transition as they flow forward.
Tonight is a must-win game for the visitors against a home team with nothing to lose, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see an open, competitive, and high-scoring affair.
