Bury vs Harrogate Town Prediction

Contrasting levels of form

Bury's numbers look eye-catching on the surface, 13 wins from 20 with 53 goals scored. But a good chunk of that form has come in the Non League Premier Northern and early cup rounds, including some big scorelines like 8-0 and 7-0 against lower-tier opposition.

Bury: 20 completed matches; Harrogate Town: 20 completed matches.

Bury

20 matches

Win

65% 13 / 20

Draw

10% 2 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

53

Conceded

18

Difference

+35

Harrogate Town

20 matches

Win

70% 14 / 20

Draw

10% 2 / 20

Loss

20% 4 / 20

Scored

41

Conceded

24

Difference

+17

Harrogate's form is built on sterner stuff. Fourteen wins from 20 in the National League, with defeats coming against decent sides like AFC Fylde and Scunthorpe. They've also shown they can be undone on their day, as the 0-2 loss at Scunthorpe and the 1-2 slip against Fylde show.

The two form lines aren't really comparable on level, which makes judging this tie on recent results alone tricky.

A proper gap in levels

This has the look of a classic FA Cup mismatch on paper. Bury's matches have mostly come several tiers below the National League, while Harrogate have been competing regularly in it. That's a meaningful jump in quality for Bury to deal with in one afternoon.

Cup ties like this can still throw up surprises, especially with a home crowd and nothing to lose for the lower side. But based on what we've seen, Harrogate look the more battle-tested side heading into this one.