Eastleigh return home to the Silverlake Stadium to host a Hampshire derby against relegation-threatened Aldershot Town in the 42nd matchday of the Vanarama National League on Monday 10th April with a 3pm kick-off. Preview in association with Unibet.
Eastleigh:
Three days after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Torquay United, the Spitfires have a chance to instantly bounce back in front of their home fans.
The Hampshire derby will be the second match of four in just eight days for Eastleigh, having previously gone almost two weeks without a fixture.
The Spitfires will be hoping to return to home comforts as all three of Eastleigh’s defeats in the last 13 matches have come on the road. Whereas at home, the Spitfires are unbeaten in their last six in the league.
Despite the defeat at the weekend, Eastleigh remain in the play-off positions sitting in seventh position, two points above the dotted line and ahead of Bromley in eighth spot, with just five matches remaining.
Last Saturday was the first time all season that the Spitfires have gone two consecutive matches without scoring. So Eastleigh will be hoping Alfie Lloyd’s return from injury off the bench last time out, will help top scorer Danny Whitehall add to his tally of 15 goals and the clubs tally of 48 goals, as goal difference could play a major factor in the latter stages of the season.
Aldershot Town:
Aldershot Town come into the match off the back of a good point at home against Yeovil Town to keep their relegation rivals five points away in the battle for safety.
Tyler Cordner gave the Shots the lead but Aldershot were soon pegged back meaning both teams had to settle for a point.
Eastleigh’s defeat to the Shots’ rivals Torquay United saw the margin to the relegation drop to four points with just five matches remaining. Aldershot currently occupy the spot directly above the drop zone sitting in 20th position with 44 points from 41 matches.
The Shots have been dragged back towards danger following a run of just one win in their last 10 league matches, albeit avoiding defeat in half of those matches.
Cordner’s goal moved him to second in Aldershot’s top goalscorer list just two goals behind Justin Amaluzor who sits on eight goals, although Amaluzor has not featured in any of the Shots’ last three fixtures.
Fixture History:
Despite the reverse fixture in October ending in a goalless draw, this Hampshire derby has been largely dominated by the Spitfires over the course of the 18 meetings between the two clubs. Eastleigh have won nine of those fixtures while Aldershot have won just three although the spoils have been shared six times too.
Last five:
04/10/22: Aldershot 0-0 Eastleigh
02/04/22: Aldershot 0-2 Eastleigh
11/12/21: Eastleigh 0-3 Aldershot
18/05/21: Aldershot 1-3 Eastleigh
17/10/20: Eastleigh 2-2 Aldershot
Preview by Sajidur Rahman
