This Saturday sees the penultimate round of the 23/24 FA Trophy campaign take place with last year's finalists, Gateshead, hosting Northern League Premier side Macclesfield, and the other matchup sees the 2022 FA Trophy winners Bromley host fellow National League side Solihull Moors, with only 90 minutes left until a potential trip to Wembley on the 11th May. 21z
Gateshead vs Macclesfield
Playoff-chasing Gateshead will go into this matchup as firm favourites against Macclesfield. It will ride high with confidence as they are currently on a three-game unbeaten run and have pushed themselves back into the playoff picture for the time being.
Marcus Dinanga will be one to watch out for from a Macclesfield perspective. The centre-forward has been a menace in the National League, scoring 18 goals in 38 games with 6 assists, and will be a handful for Macclesfield.
Macclesfield will go into this game as the underdogs; however, they shouldn't be taken for granted, as they are also on a good run of form now, just like Gateshead. They are on an unbeaten streak in the league and sit third in the Northern Premier League. They are looking to solidify their place in the playoffs and reach promotion to the National League North.
Alex Curran and John Rooney will cause Gateshead all sorts of problems, with both scoring 21 and 20 goals across 38 games for Macclesfield. If Gateshead isn't in top form, Macclesfield could cause them a lot of issues, and a potential cup upset could be on the cards, seeing the Phoenix Club make their first trip to Wembley.
Bromley vs Solihull Moors
Bromley is set to have the best season in the club's history. This Saturday, they are looking at what could be one of two possible trips to Wembley this season. They are also sitting in third place currently and chasing a playoff semi-final place. They will look to repeat their 2022 success against Wrexham.
Bromley had a fairly successful Easter weekend, securing four out of a possible six points and still managing the four-point gap on Solihull and Altrincham below. Part of this success has been the ever-present striker Michael Cheek, who has netted his 100th goal this season and contributed 22 goals for the Ravens so far this season, being a constant part of the first-team squad.
Additionally, Grant Smith comes back into the Ravens lineup after a three-game suspension and has been vital in saving Bromley points since signing in the summer.
Solihull is also chasing a playoff dream and sits on 70 points, joint with Altrincham. They are 4 points against this Saturday's opposition, Bromley. This will be the first of a doubleheader in the coming week, as the Moors will be travelling back down to South London to face Bromley in a vital league game.
Solihull matched Bromley and gained 4 points over the easter weekend and continue to pile the pressure on the surrounding teams in the playoff hunt, and a player that have been vital to their good form this season are Mark Beck and Callum Maycock, who have both scored 8 goals each this season with Tahvon Campbell and Jack Stevens sitting joint behind them with a combined 7 goals this with both pairs contributing to nearly 60% of Solihulls goals this season.
This Saturday is set to showcase two promising Trophy Semi-FInals, with one being a typical cup underdog story when Macclesfield take on Gateshead, but with both being on good league form at the moment, this is set up to be an unpredictable game.
The other game between Solihull and Bromley is a non-league clash of the heavyweights as it pits two teams that know each other well, have already met this season, and are both currently battling for the final semi-final playoff place and with them also meeting back at Hayes Lane in a weeks time in the reverse league fixture this looks to be the first act of a vital doubleheader between the two sides.
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