Notts County look to bolster title chances with win over Scunthorpe United

Notts County host relegation-battlers Scunthorpe United on Saturday 25 March as they still harbor title hopes.

Currently just three points behind top-flying Wrexham in first place, victory here and a slip by the Welsh side could give manager Luke Williams that much-needed boost. He could also shift the title burden in favor of his team.

Notts County are currently unbeaten in four games and will be looking to build on their excellent form at home at Meadow Lane.

A disappointing 1-1 draw at Barnet last weekend dampened the spirits of the Magpies faithful slightly, but they are expected to come back in full force this time around.

However, Scunthorpe is coming off an impressive result with a 4-1 thrashing of Wealdstone last Saturday. However, the Irons haven’t tasted victory on the road since Jan. 25, so any result here would be a shock to National League fans. .

In the reverse match played at Glanford Park, Notts County won 4-1 with four different goalscorers on the scoreboard, including the always impressive Macauley Longstaff.

Longstaff currently sits at the top of the goalscoring charts with a magnificent tally of 37 goals in league action alone. He is even ahead of scoring sensation Paul Mullin, who plays for Wrexham and has netted 31 fewer goals so far this season.

It would be unfair to Notts County to say that Longstaff has gotten them to where they are this season, but their goals have certainly been a shining light for the Magpies in this spectacular year.

Longstaff is expected to add to that tally against Scunthrope’s leaky defense and inspire the Magpies to another home-turf win.

Notts County are one of the top scorers in the league this season and hope they add to this tally against a Scunthrope defense that has conceded a pitiful 71 goals so far this term.

Apart from the fact that Notts County have scored 97 league goals so far this season, the statistics show a game where Notts County take the lead and make their star quality count.

However, Scunthorpe has a quality of its own with Joe Nuttal, who has led his team out of sticky situations on multiple occasions this season. It will be a tough task for him on Saturday afternoon but he will never rule anyone out in the National League.

Iron’s manager Jimmy Dean will try to come out of the game with a strong performance, but at this stage of the season with only eight games left, points should be the priority.

On home soil and with the fans rooting for them, Notts County will try to put the ball down, control possession and create as many clear chances as possible.

In the meantime, Scunthorpe is likely to be happy to sit back, let his hosts have possession and counter-attack at half-time whenever possible.

With only an automatic League One place at stake, every league game for Notts County is like playing in a final. They will be eager to take all three points in this one.

With both teams desperate for points for different reasons, the passion on the pitch and on the sidelines is expected to create a special atmosphere on Saturday afternoon.

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