YORK City supporter Morgan Bruce previews the Minstermen's upcoming match with FC Halifax Town.

As we hit the last weekend of October, the Vanarama National League hits gameweek 16, where we can see a good idea of how the table will end up after all 46 games.

The National League this season is heavily dominated by teams in the South with 13 of the 24 teams being Southern-based sides.

Therefore, for those sides based in the North such as York, any shorter away games are often seen as ones to look forward to.

This away game is York’s shortest of the season as they travel to FC Halifax Halifax Town for a Yorkshire derby at the Shay Stadium, and this game is one that will take centre-stage for this weekend’s set of National League fixtures.

As well as the local geography that will make this game interesting, the quality of both sides certainly makes for this to be an intriguing match-up.

Last season Halifax finished seventh to make it into the National League playoffs, something that they are looking to replicate this season.

They’re currently in eighth and only one point below Solihull Moors who are in seventh.

In comparison, York are in second and only one point off of top of the league Forest Green Rovers.

Unlike Halifax, who are on for a similar finish this season, York are having a much improved season compared to last year where they only survived relegation on the final day.

In terms of what to expect on Saturday, it is likely to be a very tense and close game.

This is partially due to the nature of a local derby but also due to the play styles of the two teams, especially York’s away form.

Halifax are experiencing an inconsistent year at the Shay so far, as across their eight home games, they have three wins, three draws and two losses which is the 12th-best home record across the National League.

However, they may have turned a corner recently at home as they are currently on a run of four games unbeaten with draws against Oldham and Wealdstone while beating Tamworth and Eastleigh respectively.

York are currently unbeaten away from home this season and have only conceded four goals across seven games.

In terms of away victories, York have won these games with goals after the 80th minute, usually on the counter-attack or through capitalising on opposition errors earlier in the game and then looking to be solid for the rest of the game.

In terms of play style away from home, York play a much more conservative and sensible brand of football as they look to play on the counter-attack compared to the free-flowing possession football that is often seen at the LNER Community Stadium.

Overall, I think this game will be quite even and very close, while both teams will be looking for the other to play the occasion of the derby more than the game itself as this could open up gaps to score a crucial goal.