Whilst Droitwich are not enjoying the best of seasons they have suffered a number of very narrow defeats and perhaps they caused the upset of the season with a victory at Earlsdon.

With Banbury having won at The Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground earlier in the season they will be keen to build on last week's encouraging perfomance at Bedworth, but know Droitwich will mount a very stern challenge as they look to move away from the relegation places, something Banbury have been familiar with in recent seasons.

Droitwich were formed relatively recently, in 1972, and have had a number of "homes" before settling at The Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground in 1998. The magnificent facilities there were funded from the sale of their previous home in the Harbury Road to developers, and we trust that they will not suffer any of the difficulties that beset Banbury following their own move. The move was a spingboard for success with two promotions gained and the North Midlands Shield was won in both 2011 and 2012.

Last season Droitwich finished a very creditable fourth in the league notching up 14 wins (Banbury had eight), and we are sure that the second half of the season will see them enjoy greater fortune, but we hope that the change in fortune will not begin just yet!!

The league this season has thrown up several surprising results with upsets almost becoming common place. The forecasting by our own "Mystic Meg" remains very much hit and miss with the last forecast getting three out of five correct.

Looking at this week's fixtures we are sure that again there will be upsets and a number of games are bound to be close, but here we go again putting our neck on the block....

Nuneaton O.Es v Leamington - two of the stronger sides playing one another. We rate the O.Es highly but they suffered a surprise defeat at Kidderminster last week whilst Leamington had a good away win at Stourbridge. Home advantage could just be enough. Old Covs v Kidderminster - Kidderminster seem to blow hot and cold but having won the reverse fixture earlier in the season fairly easily we take them to do the double. Old Leams v Earlsdon - Earlsdon continue to surprise us and remain very much in the promotion race - will it last, we don't think so and we take the O.Ls to win this one. Spartans v Dunlop - top against third from bottom, seems like a clearcut home win. Stourbridge v Bedworth - Can't see Bedworth springing a surprise - home win.

On Saturday we will be particularly pleased to welcome our friends and neighbours in the form of Banbury Cricket Club who, in the guise of The Willows are generously sponsoring today's game. We do enjoy a close relationship with the Cricket Club with several being members of both Clubs and sporting links being maintained with competion for the Barrie Nichols Memorial Trophy the next challenge being a skittles match on April 11th at Sandford St Martin Cricket Club. Make a note in the diary. We trust that the representatives of The Willows enjoy their day and we thank them for their much appreciated support.

On the subject of support the "Raise the Roof" campaign is well on the way. The Christmas Carol evening was a great success with the raffle making a magnificent £1,300. Whilst things are progressing well much still needs to be done so we urge all members to be as generous as possible, and hopefully we can say goodbye to the beloved Green Room before the beginning of next season.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone at Bodicote Park a Very Happy New Year. The team are grateful for the excellent support they receive and we can look forward to what we are sure will be a very competitive game which we trust will be played in the right spirit and be enjoyed by the players, referee and spectators alike.

Banbury's starting line-up is expected to comprise:

1. Michael Fox
2. Brett Richmond
3. Rory Dymond
4. Matt Brock
5. Nick Pratt
6. Sam Mills
7. Seamus O'Dwyer
8. Chris Phillips
9. Ed Phillips (Captain)
10. Alex Fogavini
11. Josh Deegan
12. Pete Flemming
13. Dave Taylor
14. Laurence Jackson
15. Joe Mills

Replacements:

16. Owen Perkins
17. James Page
18. Jed Boyle
.