Astley and Tyldesley await Central on Saturday!

This weekend sees Manchester Central take on Astley and Tyldesley in the second round of the double-header, having beaten their opposition 7-1 last weekend. The upcoming fixture will be Central's nineteenth fixture of the season and one that will be viewed as a must-win by both sides should they wish the keep their promotion aspirations alive.

Despite having beaten Astley by a convincing scoreline on the weekend, Central will be under no impressions that repeating the feat will be an easy task. Astley possesses an attacking threat, boasting the Manchester Football League Second Division's 9th and 15th top scorers in Keeran Parker and Alec Crowder. They've scored 16 goals in 19 appearances and 12 in 18 appearances, respectively. They have assisted Astley in achieving the 9th highest goal total in the league with 57 goals, averaging three goals per game.

However, despite conceding the 7th least goals in the league, the opposition's defence is not impenetrable. Astley has conceded 20 of 57 goals at home and have lost four of their nine fixtures at the Gin Pit Village Playing Fields, demonstrating that Central, the league's 4th highest scoring team with 81 goals, should still be able to find a way through.

To add further confidence to Chris Tomkinson's side, Central head into the fixture with the league's 3rd best form, taking 12 of a possible 18 points in their last six fixtures. This is a significant part down to the free-scoring Fuhad Kasali and Gabriel Wiwoloku, who are the league's 5th and 9th top scorers with 19 and 18 goals, respectively. Astley will be wary of the threat posed by Kasali in particular, who added a hat-trick to his tally in the reverse fixture, as they look to better their recent form, which places them 11th in the form table with just 4 points from a possible 18.

Central's free-flowing side will look to take advantage of their opposition, who currently sit two places and six points behind them, as they aim to move up to 7th place on the weekend. Should Avro drop points, a total of three points at Astley will take Central into real contention for the 5th promotion place with two games in-hand over 3rd-placed Avenue and six games in hand over 2nd-placed Leigh Genesis, with just 9 and 11 points to make up from a possible 24 in their eight remaining games. This will be of paramount importance as Central have a tough run of fixtures remaining, with the list including 5th-placed Monton, to whom Tomkinson's side, unfortunately, lost 5-3 to a matter of weeks ago, as well as top-of-the-league Bolton United.

However, should Central be able to overcome these challenges, the club has an encouraging run-in with their final three games against 14th-placed Cavaliers, 12th-placed Daisy Hill and 11th-placed Hollinwood. Meanwhile, it will be all to play for in the eyes of Astley, who face four of the top six in their remaining six games - including two successive fixtures against Bolton Borough. It should be an entertaining game this weekend with both teams fighting to keep their promotion hopes alive and Astley having a point to prove after suffering an emphatic defeat in the previous round.