Hartlepool vs Marine Prediction

Two very different form lines

Hartlepool's numbers make for grim reading. Across their last 20 matches they've won just 7, lost 13, and shipped 39 goals while scoring only 19. Zoom in further and the picture gets worse: their most recent run of results, stretching back through September, is a string of defeats at home and away alike.

Hartlepool: 20 completed matches; Marine: 20 completed matches.

Hartlepool

20 matches

Win

35% 7 / 20

Draw

0% 0 / 20

Loss

65% 13 / 20

Scored

19

Conceded

39

Difference

-20

Marine

20 matches

Win

55% 11 / 20

Draw

5% 1 / 20

Loss

40% 8 / 20

Scored

31

Conceded

21

Difference

+10

Marine tell a different story. They've won 11 of their last 20, lost 8, drawn 1, and scored 31 against 21 conceded. More tellingly, their last four matches have all been wins, including two FA Cup victories over Warrington Town and Radcliffe that got them to this stage in the first place.

Hartlepool's home form has gone missing just as Marine arrive full of confidence.

A cup tie that doesn't follow the script

On paper this looks like a routine step up in level for Hartlepool, who sit in the National League, against a National League North side. But current form flips that assumption on its head. Hartlepool haven't looked like a team capable of brushing anyone aside lately, while Marine have shown they can grind out results and win knockout matches when it matters.

That doesn't make Marine favourites, but it does make this a far less predictable tie than the gap between divisions might suggest. A cup match against a struggling higher-league side is exactly the kind of fixture where lower-division teams fancy their chances.