Stretford Paddock return to league action this weekend, playing hosts to Mersey Valley in a fixture which finished as a 2-2 draw only a month ago.

Paddock came out victorious in the cup last week after an eight-thriller saw them defeat Denton 6-2. Prior to that, Paddock have beaten Hartford, Moore United, and Wigan since the reverse fixture. Looking to continue their unbeaten start to this season, Paddock have won seven and drawn two, and currently sit third only one point behind Winsford, however still with a game in hand on the team above.

The opposition, meanwhile, occupies ninth place in the league playing two games more than Paddock. Mersey Valley come into the game following back-to-back wins, last week beating Lymm Rover 4-1 after a 12-0 hammering of bottom side Wigan Town.

The reverse fixture saw Paddock twice come from behind to take a point back home. Paddock arguably scored the goal of the game, with a quarter of an hour to go and trailing by two goals to one. Omar Sinclair scored from a free-kick on the left of the D, his whipped effort curled around the wall and into the far top right corner of the net.

The weekend’s clash could throw up some spice following the end of the reverse fixture where things got slightly heated. Dom Molloy was sent off in the reverse match following the full-time whistle when a spectator jumped the fence to bring down the Paddock midfielder, and Dom’s reaction saw him see red for violent conduct, which caused a scuffle between the two sides. Gavin Salmon is also due to return from suspension for this weekend, having seen red in the abandoned game against Haydock.