Blundell Park hosts Grimsby Town and Harrogate Town this Saturday in a big clash in the bottom half of the table. Both sides sit too close for comfort to the relegation zone and need a win to increase the buffer zone to the drop zone.
Grimsby Town currently sit 18th in League Two after 22 games. The Mariners have five wins, nine draws and eight losses, leaving them on just 24 points, only four points from the relegation zone, with a number of teams below them with games in hand.
In their last five games in all competitions, Grimsby have one win, three draws and one loss.
Grimsby took an early lead against Sutton United through Rekeil Pyke, but Harry Smith equalised for Sutton in the added time of the first half. Neither side could find another goal in the second half as the game ended in a 1 - 1 draw. Another 1 - 1 draw came Grimsby’s way, this time against MK Dons. Pyke once again gave Grimsby the early lead, but Jack Payne equalised in the second half for MK Dons.
In the Second round of the FA Cup, Grimsby took on Oxford United. Marcus McGuane gave Oxford the early lead and Billy Bodin secured the 2 - 0 win for Oxford in the second half. Despite having more of the possession, Grimsby slumped to a 2 - 0 loss, with just five shots on target in comparison to Oxford’s 11 shots on target. The one win came against Crewe Alexandra. Abo Eisa and Danny Rose both scored in the first half, and even with Joe White’s late goal, Grimsby held on for a 2 - 1 win.
The last time out for Grimsby was against Newport County. Omar Bogle opened the scoring in the 72nd minute, but Rose equalised for Grimsby for a 1 - 1 draw.
Harrogate Town sit just above Grimsby in 16th. In 21 games, Harrogate have eight wins, three draws and ten losses which leaves them on 27 points, only seven points from the relegation zone.
In their last five games in all competitions, Harrogate have one win, two draws and two losses.
Jake Young opened the scoring for Swindon Town in the first half, but Jack Muldoon equalised for Harrogate in order to grab a 1 - 1 draw. Next time out for Harrogate was against Crawley Town. Ben Gladwin opened the scoring for Crawley, but Muldoon drew Harrogate level in the added time of the first half. However, Klaidi Lolos scored late on for Crawley to give them the 2 - 1 win.
Andy Cannon and Elliot Lee gave Wrexham the early 2 - 0 lead, but Dean Cornelius got Harrogate on the scoresheet before halftime. Anthony O’Connor equalised for Harrogate just minutes into the second half, but Harrogate were unable to score again as the game finished 2 - 2. In the FA Cup Second round, Harrogate faced Bolton. However, a hat-trick from Jon Daoi Boovarsson and a brace from Dan Nlundulu gave Bolton the 5 - 1 win, with George Thomson on the scoresheet for Harrogate.
The most recent outing for Harrogate was against Notts County. Thomson, Abraham Odoh and Matt Daly all scored in the 3 - 1 win for Harrogate.
Grimsby and Harrogate have only met five times in their histories, with the first meeting coming as recently as 2020. Harrogate have the better record in the fixture with three wins and Grimsby yet to beat Harrogate. In fact, a draw is more common, with two draws so far in this fixture.