Surrey Derby Next For Sutton

This Saturday Sutton United make the short journey to Woking for what promises to be an intriguing National League derby.

For most of the last twenty-five years Woking can claim to have been the top non-League club in Surrey, but Sutton are now in the higher league position while the Cards have spent all of this season in the lower reaches of the table.

Tuesday's creditable 1-1 draw with leaders Lincoln took Paul Doswell's team up to 14th and, with 49 points now on the board, Sutton are now close to being assured of playing at this level again next season. But Torquay's win at Solihull that same evening sent Woking back into the relegation zone, seven places and eight points below Sutton with a game more played.

Scoring has not been the problem for the Cards as they have so far amassed 56 league goals in 2016/17, ten more than Sutton. But the 73 conceded gives them the second-worst defensive record in the division. When the two sides met at Gander Green Lane in October Sutton won 4-1 with Roarie Deacon, Ross Stearn, Nicky Bailey and Craig McAllister all netting before Matt Tubbs replied for the visitors.

Both sides only managed one league win during March, Sutton's being last Saturday's 5-1 dismembering of North Ferriby while the previous Tuesday the Cards won 3-1 at Braintree. In their game on Saturday Woking went 2-0 ahead at home to Maidstone before losing 4-2. Although that collapse may give travelling fans cause for optimism, Sutton have only notched two away victories in the league all season.

Sutton may still be without injured defenders Dean Beckwith (hamstring) and Simon Downer (ankle), but Louis John's fine performances against North Ferriby and Lincoln mean that he is likely to keep his place in central defence, while either Dan Spence or Nicky Bailey can play at full back.

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