Torquay United welcome Dorking Wanderers to Plainmoor in the National League on Wednesday evening.
It is set to be the first competitive meeting between the two clubs after Dorking secured promotion to the fifth tier last season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Torquay have proven to be a solid National League outfit under long-serving manager Gary Johnson in recent years, finishing second in the 2020-21 season, losing the playoff final on penalties, before placing in the top half in their last campaign.
However, things have taken a turn for the worse at Plainmoor, as the club now find themselves bottom of the league standings, with just 13 points to their name after 17 games.
Despite a decent initial start to the season, in which the Gulls acquired four points from their opening two matches, keeping two clean sheets in the process, a run of one league win in 15 games has caused them to be embroiled in a battle at the wrong end of the table.
Johnson's men have struggled to score goals in the majority of their matches, but they have bizarrely shown attacking prowess in two games that are major outliers, drawing 4-4 draw at home to Altrincham and defeating Aldershot Town 6-1 at the start of November.
The 10 goals scored in these two games account for more than half of the 19 that the Gulls have managed, and they have come in their last two home league outings, performances that may indicate that they have started to turn the corner.
This is also backed up by a 2-2 draw against League One side Derby County in the FA Cup at the weekend, with Asa Hall and Will Goodwin notching second-half goals to secure a replay at Pride Park next Tuesday.
Dorking have made a solid start to their first National League campaign, currently sitting 14th in the league table, while also having an extra game to play than most other teams in the league, in which a win could move them into the top half.
The Wanderers have certainly been an interesting side to watch this season, with only two of their 16 league games having fewer than three goals in them.
Marc White's men have been fantastic going forward, and they boast the second-best attacking record of any side outside of the playoff places, bagging 30 goals up to this point.
However, this attacking system has also cost Dorking at the other end, as they have managed to keep just one clean sheet in the league so far, and they also have the joint-worst defensive record with 37 goals conceded, the same amount as 22nd-placed Maidstone United.
Last time out, this defensive fragility was on show, with White's side succumbing to a 3-0 loss at home to Aldershot Town, who came into the game off the back of the aforementioned 6-1 defeat to Torquay, so the Wanderers will need to step up their game on Wednesday night.
Dorking Wanderers form (all competitions):
- D
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
Team News
Dean Moxey limped off with an injury in the first half against Derby, and so his substitute on the day, Dylan Crowe, is likely to start at left-back on Wednesday.
Hall has contributed four goals in his last five games from midfield, so he is set to feature again, alongside both Stephen Wearne and Tom Lapslie.
Also in good goalscoring form are strikers Aaron Jarvis and Will Goodwin, and Johnson is poised to give them both the nod again on Wednesday night.
For Dorking, James McShane has been a real goal threat this season, notching 11 league goals up to this point, the third-highest total in the league, and the central-midfielder will probably be favoured by White, playing next to Jack Jebb, who has started the last three games.
After taking a while to adjust to the National League, striker Ryan Seager has really started to perform in recent outings, helping himself to five goals in his last seven matches, so he is a great option in attack.
With the Wanderers shipping three goals at home to Aldershot last time out, Sami El-Abd may return to the defence, in place of Ed Harris.
Torquay United possible starting lineup:
Halstead; Donnellan, Ness, Ellis; De Silva, Lapslie, Hall, Wearne, Crowe; Jarvis, Goodwin
Dorking Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Lincoln; Philpott, El-Abd, Taylor, McManus; Muitt, McShane, Jebb, Bowerman; Seager, Ottaway
We say: Torquay United 2-2 Dorking Wanderers
Games involving Dorking Wanderers have tended to be high-scoring affairs so far this season, and we expect this one to be no different. Torquay picked up a good result against Derby County last time out, but with the visitors being a lot higher than them in the table, this fixture may well end as a draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
