The National League season continues in midweek as Maidstone United welcome Bromley to the Gallagher Stadium on Tuesday night.
The hosts are cut adrift at the bottom of the table coming into the match whilst their visitors are sat in ninth place and still harbour hopes of a playoff place.
Match preview
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Maidstone are enduring a terrible 2022-23 season as they are currently winless in their last 15 games.
Such a torrid run of form has led them to recently appoint former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender George Elokobi as their new manager after Hakan Hayrettin departed in January.
Last time out the Stones were beaten 3-1 away at Dorking Wanderers courtesy of strikes from Josh Taylor and Jason Prior, a defeat which was their fourth in a row and one that has left them bottom of the division and 14 points from safety.
Realistically United only have pride left to play for as they enter the final months of the season and a return to the National League South is looking inevitable for the Kent outfit as they have not won since a 3-2 success over Maidenhead United in November.
A key factor in Maidstone's demise this season has been their leaky defence as they have shipped a whopping 83 goals in 39 games and have conceded four or more on five separate occasions this term.
Maidstone have not scored enough to make up for the number they have let in as Jack Barham is still their top marksman with nine strikes, and he moved to Aldershot Town in early March.
Andy Woodman's Bromley come to Maidstone in ninth place in the table and are looking to build on a 1-0 away win at Yeovil Town on Saturday courtesy of a winner in the fourth minute from Besart Topalloj.
The three points against the Somerset side were much needed as they came off the back of consecutive defeats to Wrexham and York City which stunted their playoff ambitions.
Back-to-back victories on Tuesday night could take the London outfit into eighth as they look to both close in on Boreham Wood in seventh and open up a gap to the teams below them such Dagenham and Redbridge and Wealdstone.
A win against United may put them just four points behind the Wood, who they still have to welcome to Hayes Lane before the season is out, so they will be aiming to go into that fixture in touch with Luke Garrard's team.
The form of Bromley's strikers has been central to their aspirations this campaign as Adam Marriott and Michael Cheek have plundered 10 goals each to keep the Ravens' promotion flame flickering into the spring, and the pair will be looking to reach at least 15 strikes each as the term ticks on.
History in this fixture is firmly on the side of the visitors, who have won seven of the eight meetings between the teams including a 3-0 triumph in the reverse fixture in September, with Bromley looking to record back-to-back doubles over Maidstone after beating them 1-0 and 2-0 last season.
Team News
The hosts have a clean bill of health ahead of Tuesday night so will field their usual 5-4-1 formation with Sam Bone, Kevin Berkoe and Raphe Brown making up a three-man central defence, whilst Mamadou Jobe and George Fowler will play in the wing-back roles.
Regan Booty and Harry Smith will take up the central midfield roles and Josh Shonibare and Dominic Odusanya will support Solomon Smith upfront.
Bromley will be without Reice Charles-Cook, who is suspended due to a straight red card, so Sam Long will take his place between the sticks.
Andy Woodman will line the Ravens up in a 4-4-2 formation with Marriott and Cheek playing as a strike partnership and being supported on the flanks by Ben Krauhaus and Saturday's match-winner Topalloj.
Byron Webster will captain the side and he will play at the heart of the Londoners' defence alongside Callum Reynolds, who joined Bromley from Dagenham in the summer.
Maidstone United possible starting lineup:
Barden; Jobe, Bone, Berkoe, Brown, Fowler; Shonibare, Booty, Smith, Odusanya; Smith
Bromley possible starting lineup:
Long; Sowunmi, Reynolds, Webster, Dennis; Krauhaus, Stirk, Arthurs, Topalloj; Marriott, Cheek
We say: Maidstone United 0-2 Bromley
Maidstone cannot buy a result at the moment and promotion-chasing Bromley are not about to provide them with one. Marriott and Cheek will surely be too much for the low-on-confidence and out-of-form United defence to cope with.
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Top tip
Ollie Hawthorn
