Football VAVEL

Solihull Moors vs York City: National League Preview, Gameweek 3, 2022

Neil Ardley's Solihull Moors host York City in front of the BT Sport cameras on Wednesday night.

Solihull Moors vs York City: National League Preview, Gameweek 3, 2022
Moors will be hoping they can overcome their Yorkshire opposition on Wednesday (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
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By Ryan Brookes

The ARMCO Arena will host its second match of the season on Wednesday night, as newly-promoted York City travel to the West Midlands to take on last season's playoff final runners-up Solihull Moors.

Unbeaten so far, Neil Ardley's side will want to build on a positive 4-1 win over Aldershot, and most recently their one-all draw with Southend.

York, on the other hand, got off to a fantastic start, winning 2-0 at home to Woking, but two goals in quick succession from Maidstone at the weekend saw The Minstermen fall to their first defeat, despite taking an early lead.

  • Team news

Solihull Moors

Manager Neil Ardley named an unchanged side for Moors' initial home game of the season against Southend, also allowing a place on the bench for new signing Ethan Vaughan.

York City

Experienced boss John Askey was forced into two changes to his York side against Maidstone, with both Michael Duckworth and Luke James dropping out due to injury.

Ryan Fallowfield came in to make his debut at right-back whilst Alex Hurst provided back-up on the left wing.

During the unfortunate defeat, defender Adam Crookes was subbed off with an injury, and the last we heard from the manager was that "it is too early to tell."

  • Likely lineups

Solihull Moors

Moulden, Clarke, Coker, Howe, Sbarra, Maycock, Dallas, Osborne, Barnett, Kelleher, Reid

York City

Ross, Fallowfield, Kouogun, Kerr, Whittle, Pybus, Dyson, Hancox, Hurst, John-Lewis, Kouhyar

  • Key players

Joe Sbarra

In recent years, Solihull have really needed a proven goalscorer to power them up the table, and it seems they have done that with the 2020 signing of Joe Sbarra.

Scoring 18 goals in all leagues appearances last season, Sbarra was a crucial piece of the jigsaw in Moors' playoff finish, which unfortunately ended in defeat in the final.

The former-Burton Albion midfielder is already off the mark for the season, having netted during his side's 4-1 demolition of Aldershot, and will be looking to add to that when they face York City midweek.

Joe Sbarra will look to continue his decent form on Wednesday (Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Joe Sbarra will look to continue his decent form on Wednesday (Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Maz Kouhyar

York City's skillful winger brings an incredible story with him. The first Afghan to play in Great Britain worked his way up the ranks at Walsall before picking up a career-damaging ACL injury which sent him down to the National League North.

Kouhyar is now on his way back, and has grabbed some big goals on the journey so far. The 24-year-old's strike against Boston last season sealed promotion for The Minstermen. As well as scoring the last goal of the previous campaign, he also slotted home for City's first goal back in the National League.

Against a strong side and promotion rival in Solihull Moors, Kouhyar will be hoping he can make the difference under the lights.

A-MAZ-ING: Maz Kouhyar has been a star for York City so far (Photo by Emma Simpson/Getty Images)
A-MAZ-ING: Maz Kouhyar has been a star for York City so far (Photo by Emma Simpson/Getty Images)
  • Match details

Where is the game being played?

Solihull Moors' Damson Park, currently renamed the ARMCO Arena for sponsorship reasons, will be the venue for Moors' interesting match-up with York City.

The ARMCO Arena is also the home of Brimingham City Women and the 5,500 capacity stadium was opened in 1999.

What time is kickoff?

Due to the nature of the fixture, with it being televised, it has been previously pushed back 24 hours, so kickoff will be 19:45 on Wednesday.

How can I watch?

BT Sport 1 will be covering this National League game, making it the third to be televised by the channel in the league this season. 

Coverage starts from 19:00.