Merthyr Town play two crucial Southern League fixtures in three days over the Bank Holiday weekend.

They are at home against St Ives on Saturday (Penydarren Park) and travel to face Redditch on Monday (both 3pm).

The Martyrs are currently fifth in the Premier Division, occupying the last play-off spot, but could yet finish third or miss out in sixth place.

Champions Chippenham Town have already won the title and are the only team being promoted automatically, while the next four qualify for the play-offs.

Leamington, Hitchin, Slough and Merthyr are placed second to fifth, while Banbury United are only one point behind the Martyrs.

Banbury, whose manager is former Cardiff City captain Mike Ford, have two difficult fixtures, playing Hitchin at home and Leamington away.

There are only three league fixtures left for all of the play-off contenders in the regular season.

Slough Town, one place and three points ahead of Merthyr are at home to struggling Cirencester Town on Good Friday and would be expected to win

The Martyrs will know that three points against St Ives would see them move above Slough on goal difference if the Centurions were to pull off a surprise win.

The other match significant to Merthyr is Banbury v Hitchin. Manager Gavin Williams ands his team must win to be sure of staying above Banbury, but if the Puritans came out on top a Merthyr win would move them above Hitchin on goal difference.

Wins for Merthyr, Slough and Hitchin would see the Martyrs in third place on Saturday night.

When Merthyr visited St Ives in the reverse fixture during September they came away with a 0-0 draw against a side then just outside the bottom four, but last season’s Division Central play-off winners have shown some improvement since then and are now safely positioned just below mid-table with nothing to play for.

Saints are playing at Southern League Premier level for the first time in their history following promotion and this is believed to be their first ever visit to Penydarren Park.

Their away record in the league is rather mixed, with 10 defeats in 21 matches, along with a respectable seven wins.

Their overall defensive record is reasonable, but only three teams have scored fewer than their 47 goals from 43 games.

Their main goal threat appears to come from their wide players, with left winger Josh Dawkin top scorer on 15 goals. Ben Seymour-Shove has contributed 10 from the other flank, including three of the last four goals scored by his team.

Merthyr’s Jack Compton is still out with knee trouble, but Kyle Patten and Ryan Prosser should both be in the squad after recovering from injury problems.

Kayne McLaggon may yet return before the end of the season, but this game may be too soon for him, while Curtis McDonald’s injury is still being assessed.

The match and ball sponsors are British MotoGP promoted by Circuit of Wales, and there will be a bucket collection made by staff of the Santander bank to support Mia Chambers the ‘Rainbow Warrior princess’ and Solving Kids’ Cancer.

Ballot forms for the Player of the Season award will be given out at the match with boxes to receive them placed on the bar in Webley’s, in the Club Shop and at Holvey’s tea bar.

There will be presentations before kick-off to Ian Traylor to mark his having made 300 appearances for Merthyr and to Ryan Prosser for scoring 150 goals.

The match programme, costing £2 as usual, will feature an article on Ryan Prosser’s goal scoring career for the Martyrs and a comparison of his record with great Merthyr scorers of the past.

Southern League

Premier Division – top seven only

All teams play 46 matches

Pl GD Pts

1 Chippenham Town 43 +45 97

2 Leamington 43 +47 89

3 Hitchin Town 43 +34 83

4 Slough Town 43 +30 83

5 Merthyr Town 43 +43 80

6 Banbury United 43 +29 79

7 Frome Town 43 +17 73