Our preview of the FA Cup 1st Round game...
The FA Cup 1st Round
Sunday 9th November
The Lamex Stadium, Stevenage
Kick-off: 2pm
Ticket news:
Tickets are available online and in the club shop up until 5pm on Friday, however the prices will stay the same on matchday and our cash turnstiles will be OPEN.
Season Ticket holders in the West Stand can secure their seat before 5pm on Friday, otherwise your seats will be put on general sale over the weekend.
Team news:
Chris Beardsley is likely to be out with a hamstring injury after coming off injured against Tranmere, however the club are optimistic about his return the following weekend. Adam Marriott will miss out again despite briefly resuming light training this week, it isn't thought he'd be out much longer but this Sunday is too early. Jack Jebb’s chances of playing are up-in-the-air after pulling up with a slight hamstring injury and Dean Parrett is also a "maybe".
View from the dressing room:
Read GW's thoughts ahead of the game here.
Watch full coverage of the press conference by signing into Boro Player.
Their route to the 1st Round…
Maidstone have already had to play four games in the FA Cup to get to this stage of the competition, the first one all the way back in September when they beat Littlehampton Town 10-0.
Things got a little tougher in the 2nd Qualifying Round as they beat Brentwood 2-1, before a 2-0 win against Biggleswade and a 2-1 win against Welling meant the club are in the 1st Round proper for the first time in a generation!
So far this season…
Maidstone are flying high in the Ryman Premier, currently second in the table after picking up an astonishing 42 points from only 16 games. Should they win their games in-hand they will be comfortably top of the table. A goal-difference of +29 with only 12 goals conceded shows that they will likely be playing in the Conference South next season.
Betting with SkyBet:
Official league sponsors, Sky Bet have Boro priced at 2/5 favourites on Saturday – meaning you may want to be on the handicap in order to get some value on the win.
Boro to win -1 is 6/5, whilst if you think they will win by a minimum of three, the -2 handicap is 11/4.
My pick for the best bet of the game is probably Stevenage 3-0, at a generous 9/1.
Not going to the game?
There will be NO Boro Player commentary for the weekend's game, however tune into BBC1 from 13:55 and you'll be able to watch highlights as they happen along with seven other FA Cup ties!