Barnet: The Bees impressive run of form came to an end at Kenilworth Road last Saturday, but there are few reasons for Barnet fans to feel despondent. Martin Allen’s side had four wins and a draw in the five matches before losing to Luton, and are closer to the League Two play-off places than they are to the relegation zone. Barnet also have the fourth best home form in the division, having won 16 points from eight games at The Hive this season.

View From The Bench: “Morecambe are a good side – they’ve made a good start to the season. Martin made the long journey up there midweek to have a look at them. He’s seen them live and obviously we’ve seen the DVDs. We’ll be prepared for them, but they’re a good side – Jim Bentley has done a very good job up there.”

You can watch more from Assistant First Team Coach Gary Waddock’s pre-match interview here.

Morecambe: The Seasiders have consistently punched above their weight since winning promotion to League Two in 2007. Morecambe traditionally attract some of the fourth tier’s smallest crowds, but have been largely untroubled by relegation worries during their eight year stay in the Football League. Former Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy guided the club to an impressive 4th place finish in 2009-10, but the Shrimps lost to Dagenham & Redbridge in the play-off semi-finals. Since then they have moved to the modern Globe Arena and have consistently finished in mid-table after leaving Christie Park in 2010.

This season Morecambe currently lie in 13th place. They have lost their last two league matches to Plymouth (0-2) and Leyton Orient (0-1), and were defeated by Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup on Tuesday (4-2). However prior to those matches the Seasiders had won three games on the bounce, and have the eighth best away record in League Two.

In The Dugout:  Jim Bentley is one of England’s longest serving managers – the Liverpool-born coach first took charge of the Shrimps in May 2011.  The former central defender is something of a club legend, having played over 300 games for Morecambe between 2002 and 2011. Bentley won the Conference play-offs with the Seasiders in 2007, before becoming player-coach three years later. He was appointed manager after Sammy McIlroy left the club, and has made solid progress with the Lancashire side. Morecambe finished 15th, 16th and 18th in Bentley’s first three campaigns, before securing an 11th place top half finish last season.

Dangerman: Young striker  Thomas Barkhuizen is enjoying a good start to his debut season for the Seasiders. The 22-year-old has struck eight times so far this campaign, having arrived at the Globe Arena last May. Barkhuizen graduated from Blackpool’s youth academy in 2010, and went on to play 27 games for the Tangerines. He also enjoyed a successful loan spell at Hereford United – scoring 12 goals in the 2011-12 season. A brief loan period at Morecambe followed, prompting Jim Bentley to bring the forward in on a permanent basis last summer.

Last Meeting: The Bees last played Morecambe in March 2013. Barnet ran out 4-1 winners, thanks to a hat-trick from on loan Stevenage striker Dani Lopez. Jack Redshaw put the Shrimps in the lead after half an hour, but Edgar Davids’ Bees levelled through Luke Gambin. Lopez put Barnet ahead on 65 minutes, before extending their lead through a 70th minute penalty. The Spaniard sealed the win by completing his hat-trick with three minutes left to play. Just over two thousand people watched this one, in the Bees final season at Underhill.

Ticket Details: You can book tickets in advance of the game online here, or by phone on 020 8381 3800. Tickets can be bought on the day of the match, but only at the Ticket Office. It is recommended to arrive early to avoid queues. 

Please note: concession tickets for the South Terrace are only available in advance of tomorrow’s game.
This match is included in our Christmas Cracker – 3 games for £30! Find out more here.

Travel: You can get to and from The Hive by taking our Shuttle Bus service. To find out more and check the bus timetable, click here.

Food & Drink: Grazioli’s Bar (under the West Stand) will be open from 12:30, and will be serving our range of top quality burgers. Watford v Manchester United is the televised early kick-off on Saturday, so why not head down to the ground early and enjoy a pre-match beer before the game?

Prize Draw: Tickets for the Amber Triple Chance Draw are available for just £1. You could win a guaranteed first prize of £200, a £300 Jako voucher in our monthly draw, and be entered in an end-of-season draw for a year’s free Bees Membership! You can get tickets from our sellers around the ground.

Follow The Match: If you can’t get to The Hive, you can listen to full commentary of the match on Bees Player HD. We’ll also have live twitter updates throughout the game here, and a match report & post-match reaction on barnetfc.com.