YORK City supporter Morgan Bruce previews the Minstermen's upcoming match with Hartlepool United.

After a respectable performance in their 3-2 away loss to high-flying League One side Wycombe, York return to league action this weekend as they host relatively local rivals Hartlepool United.

York will be looking for revenge for the two games in the 2023/24 season as Hartlepool won both games with an aggregate score of 5-2.

Both games had large crowds but it was the game at Victoria Park in January 2024 that showed why there is a rivalry between the two teams.

On the pitch, it was a relatively uneventful game as Hartlepool won 2-1, thanks to a double from Dieseruvwe.

He opened the scoring in the 72nd minute before converting a penalty in the 88th minute to give Hartlepool the win.

York scored a consolation goal in the 92nd minute through Akinyemi. However, this wasn’t enough to rescue a point, from what was on the whole a close game.

However, it was off the pitch where things got heated as York fans clashed with local police as they made the short journey back to the train station after the game.

For this weekend’s game, it is looking likely to be a sell-out as Hartlepool have already sold their allocation, while the home tickets are selling in healthy numbers.

To try to avoid any potential crowd trouble, York have decided to make this game an all-ticketed fixture where tickets had to be bought before midnight yesterday.

In terms of the footballing context, York will be looking to continue their impressive 11-game unbeaten run in the league that stretches back to the loss against newly promoted Boston United on the Bank Holiday Monday at the end of August.

York have had an intense last two weeks having faced relegation-threatened Ebbsfleet, before hosting fellow title rivals Barnet in back-to-back home games.

They then had away games against Yorkshire rivals Halifax and the aforementioned League One Wycombe in the FA Cup.

This game will continue the run of intense games for HInshelwood’s men as they will be playing in front of such a large crowd.

Hartlepool on the other hand will be looking to continue their recent uptick of form as they are currently on a three-game unbeaten run since they sacked manager Darren Sarll following their embarrassing exit from the FA Cup as they lost to National League North side Brackley in a replay.

They are currently in 15th spot. However, they are only four points behind Yeovil Town  who are 7th and currently occupy the final play-off spot, which shows how competitive the National League is.

They come into this game off a 2-0 home win versus Aldershot Town and having had an extra week to prepare due to the cup exit.

Overall I think this will be an unmissable fixture and one that all fans of the National League should be keeping an eye on.