Barnet play their first game in the football league in seven years on Saturday, with Fleetwood providing the opposition at The Hive.
There’s sure to be a cracking atmosphere as The Bees begin life in League Two, having romped to the National League title last season. They picked up 102 points and didn’t lose a single match at home, something that has to give them confidence heading into this fixture.
They were in action at home in midweek, with their EFL Cup preliminary round tie against Newport County ending in defeat on penalties, after Dean Brennan’s side had scored twice in stoppage time to dramatically force a shootout.
Fleetwood will be hoping to burst Barnet’s bubble on the opening weekend. They had a distinctly middle-of-the-road campaign last time around. They finished up with 15 wins, 15 draws and 16 defeats, with 60 goals scored and 60 conceded.
The pre-season odds place them in the middle section of League Two again, and it’s tough to read too much into their friendly results given they didn’t face a single football league club. Their pre-season concluded with a 2-1 home victory over Coleraine of Northern Ireland.
How the bookies view it: Bees favoured to make happy return
The bookies see Barnet as the likely winners on their League Two return. They look good at 10/11 to win this game with Boyle Sports. The draw is on offer at 12/5, while you can back Fleetwood to triumph at 5/2.
Recent head-to-head: First meeting since 2019
These clubs last met in an FA Cup tie in 2019 which was won 2-0 by Fleetwood in North London. The last league meetings were way back in the 2012/13 season and served up a pair of home victories.
Players to watch: Brunt capable of stepping up
Barnet shared the goals around quite nicely last term, with their midfielders frequently chipping in. Zak Brunt netted nine times in all competitions from midfield, and the 23-year-old looks well capable of making the leap to League Two, while they’ll also be hoping Manchester United loanee Joe Hugill can impress in attack.
Predicted Lineups
Barnet look set to be without the injured duo of Myles Kenlock and Joe Kizzi.
Pete Wild is hoping to have a full squad to pick from for this game, as Fleetwood target an early three points on the road.
Barnet: Evans, Collinge, Senior, Kensdale, Kanu, Hartigan, Shelton, Glover, Brunt, Browne, Hugill.
Fleetwood: Lynch, Mullarkey, Potter, Bolton, Rooney, Neal, Bonds, Helm, Hume, Davies, Graydon.
Anything else catch the eye?
Having played competitively on Tuesday, Barnet may just have a slight edge in terms of match sharpness compared to a Fleetwood side that has not gone through the most strenuous of pre-season schedules.
They’ve scored at least twice in nine of their last 12 competitive home games, and you can back Barnet to score over 1.5 goals at 10/11 with Boylesports.
The Bees had 22 shots and hit the target eight times against League Two opposition in midweek, and you can back them to have over 5.5 shots on target in this one at 7/5 with PaddyPower.
GambleAware