Forest Green Rovers are back at home, facing Hartlepool after a week and a half away from action.
Hartlepool come to the New Lawn on a poor streak of form, having lost seven on the bounce in all competitions.
Despite this, the Northeast side have the second-best defence in the bottom half of the table, conceding 17 goals.
Rovers have only lost once in the two sides' last six meetings, none of which were at GL6.
Here's the rundown on our Saturday fixture at home against Hartlepool United.
The opponent – Hartlepool United
Nickname – The Monkey Hangers
Founded – 1908
League position – 22nd (9 points)
Hartlepool are currently struggling for form, losing ten of their last 11 matches across all competitions and suffering a 10-0 thumping in the National League Cup.
As a result, the Monkey Hangers are in the relegation zone, with former manager Lee Clarke resigning on September 19th after a 3-1 defeat to newly promoted Worthing at home.
Since being relegated from League Two in 22/23, the Northeast side have struggled to challenge for promotion, finishing inside the top ten only once.
Despite their poor form, Saturday's opposition have managed to pick up results against Barrow, Aldershot and Woking this season.
Forest Green Rovers have an excellent record against this weekend's visitors, having never lost at home to Hartlepool United.
The manager – Pete Wild
Pete Wild is the new man in the dugout and Rovers will be Wild’s second opponent since being appointed Hartlepool manager on October 2nd 2026 following Clarke’s resignation.
Wild’s first game in charge saw his side lose 1-0 to Tamworth.
Wild has managed in League Two for the majority of his coaching career, overseeing Barrow, Fleetwood and Tranmere in the fourth division.
The Manchester-born manager saw success managing Barrow, coming close to the playoff spots in two consecutive seasons, including missing out by just one point in the 23/24 season.
Since that stint in the Northwest, he led Fleetwood Town to two mid-table finishes and helped Tranmere survive relegation last season as caretaker manager.
One to watch – Jordan Hugill
This is Hugill’s second stint at Hartlepool, but he has struggled to adapt to life in the National League. Still, he has plenty of experience near the top of English football, having spent many seasons in the Championship and made some Premier League appearances.
The 34-year-old striker joined West Ham in January 2017 after scoring 30 goals in 114 appearances for Preston North End. He made only three appearances for the Hammers but went on to play five more Championship seasons, enjoying particular success at QPR and Middlesbrough.
The target man is yet to get off the mark for his new club, but he is one to watch when they take to the pitch on Saturday.
H2H
18/4/26 Hartlepool 2-1 FGR (McAllister 90’)
6/9/25 FGR 1-0 Hartlepool (Mitchell 23’)
5/5/25 Hartlepool 1-1 FGR (Doidge 89’)
28/9/24 FGR 1-0 Hartlepool (McCann 71’)
9/4/22 FGR 1-1 Hartlepool (Hendry 53’)
20/11/21 Hartlepool 1-3 FGR (Moore-Taylor 4’, Matt 29’, Stevens 45+1’)
