Catholic Utd take a 7-mile trip to 7th placed Rayleigh Town. Utd will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing home defeat to Basildon Town. The hosts go into the game looking for a third win on the bounce, following a 2-1 away win at Bishops Stortford Swifts and a 2-1 home win last weekend against Utd's rivals Leigh Ramblers.

Utd haven't lost to Rayleigh Town in their last 5 meetings, going back to October 2018. It has been a fruitful run of form, the EssexBhoys scoring 20 whilst Town have managed 4.

In total there has been 9 games between the sides, Utd winning 6, Town winning 2 with a single draw. Utd have outscored their host 26 goals to 14, but if we take a closer look at the fixture, Town being at home, it paints a much closer picture.
There has been 5 games with Utd winning 3, scoring 14, Town winning 2, scoring 10.

Manager Simon Thomas has previously scored 3 goals against Town, second only to Brad Rowland, who moved to newly promoted Buckhurst Hill in the summer. However, midfielder Tom Kearney and returning striker Tom Hollingsworth have score two goals each against Town, with Hollingsworth looking to start his first game for the club since joining during the week.

With Town having a youthful side this term, it will be yet another big game for the Hoops as Thomas deals with a small injury crisis. Midfielders Harley Kee (heel) & Dan Trenkel (ankle) may be out for a few more weeks, with defender Brad Vaughan possibly ruled out for the season with an ACL tear. Defender Louis Robinson grabbed important game time last week against Basildon and will look to start.