Banbury United return to action on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Rushall Olympic looking to respond to last weekend's defeat against Real Bedford.

Kick-off at Dales Lane is at 3pm, with Kelvin Langmead's side aiming to get back to winning ways after an entertaining opening to the Southern League Premier Central campaign.

The Puritans

United head into Saturday's fixture on the back of a 3-1 home defeat to Real Bedford, a result which saw the Puritans unable to hold out against a side they will hope to be challenging towards the top end of the table come the end of the season.

Despite the result, there have been plenty of positives from the opening weeks of the campaign. United have recorded one win, one draw and one defeat from their first three matches, leaving Langmead's side 12th in the early league table.

Attention now turns to Rushall, where United will be looking to put last weekend's disappointment behind them and return to winning ways.

The Pics

Rushall Olympic, known as The Pics, have made a positive start to the new campaign, picking up two wins from their opening three matches and currently sitting seventh in the table.

Managed by Ian Long, Rushall have strengthened their squad ahead of the new season as they look to build on their first campaign back in the Southern League following their move from the Northern Premier Division.

The Pics will be aiming to push towards the top five this season and have already shown promising early signs of their ambitions.

One player to keep an eye on is Luke Yates, who joined Rushall from Chasetown and will provide another attacking threat for Long's side as they look to continue their strong start.

With two victories already on the board, Rushall will be confident heading into Saturday, but Banbury will be hoping to halt their momentum and return home with all three points.

Previous Meetings

The two clubs have enjoyed plenty of competitive encounters over the years, with the last eight meetings producing three draws, three Banbury victories and two wins for Rushall Olympic.

The Puritans' last victory at Rushall came back in 2022, while their most recent visit to Dales Lane ended in a 1-1 draw.