Redcar Athletic vs Macclesfield: Match Preview, Predictions and Betting Tips
Published on Thursday, 17 September 2026 by Steve
Redcar Athletic vs Macclesfield
England FA Cup Prediction & Betting Tips
Match Overview
There is something uniquely romantic about FA Cup qualifying weekend, and this Second Qualifying Round tie at Green Lane is one of the standout fixtures of the 2026/27 qualifying campaign. Redcar Athletic, the pride of the Teesside coast, host Macclesfield FC β a club that needs no introduction to anyone who followed English football last season. The Silkmen produced one of the greatest cup shocks in the competition's history in January 2026 when they dumped holders Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup with a famous 2-1 victory at the Leasing.com Stadium, before pushing Brentford all the way in the fourth round. For Carl Jarrett's Steelmen, this is the biggest home fixture in the club's short but rapidly ascending history, and a chance to test themselves against a side packed with Football League pedigree.
Redcar Athletic arrive at this fixture on the crest of a wave. Promoted to the Northern Premier League Premier Division for the very first time after storming to the NPL Division One East title in 2025/26, Jarrett's men have adapted to life at Step 3 superbly and sit third in the early-season table with 18 points from their opening eight matches, level on points with second-placed Avro and just a point behind leaders Cleethorpes. That is a remarkable start for a club playing at the seventh tier for the first time in its history, and the Green Lane faithful β whose club only dropped the name Teesside Athletic in 2010 β are dreaming of a cup run to match their league exploits. If you enjoy analysing matches at this level, our football predictions for today cover this tie and every other qualifier on the card.
Macclesfield, meanwhile, begin their 2026/27 FA Cup journey at their traditional entry point of the Second Qualifying Round, National League North status affording them a bye through the extra preliminary, preliminary and first qualifying rounds. John Rooney β younger brother of Wayne and the man who orchestrated that Palace miracle β is now into his second season in the dugout and has reshaped his squad over the summer, adding the likes of Jon Ustabasi to an attacking unit already boasting the Silkmen's all-time record goalscorer Danny Elliott. The visitors will be firm favourites with the bookmakers, and our modelling agrees: for a full breakdown of how we price cup ties like this one, check our tomorrow's football predictions hub, which updates as team news filters through.
Tactical Preview
Formation & Key Matchups
Redcar Athletic 4-4-2
Carl Jarrett has largely stuck with a disciplined 4-4-2 during Redcar's promotion season and the early weeks of this campaign, trusting a hard-working midfield duo β typically the experienced Glen Butterworth alongside the industrious JJ Bartliff β to screen a back four marshalled by club captain Kevin Burgess. The wide players tuck in quickly without the ball, meaning the Steelmen are comfortable surrendering possession and striking on the counter-attack or from set pieces, an area where Burgess and Nathan Guru are genuinely dangerous. At home, in front of an expectant crowd, expect Redcar to sit in a compact mid-block, deny the half-spaces to Macclesfield's creative players, and look to feed the front pairing of Adam Boyes and Bradley Fewster early. Boyes, in particular, thrives on physical duels with centre-backs and will fancy his chances against a Silkmen back line that has been reshuffled since last season.
Macclesfield 4-2-3-1
John Rooney favours a possession-based 4-2-3-1 that his players executed to near-perfection during last season's cup run. The double pivot of Paul Dawson and Regan Griffiths gives the Silkmen a secure platform, allowing Josh Kay and Elliot Osborne to drift between the lines and find Danny Elliott, whose 41-goal haul in the 2024/25 title-winning campaign and record-breaking scoring feats since make him the most natural finisher on the pitch by some distance. Full-backs Luke Matheson and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson β both with EFL experience β push high to provide width, which stretches lower-league defences horizontally and creates the cut-back chances Elliott feasts on. For readers who want to understand how formation battles like this influence betting markets, our guide to the evolution of football tactics is essential background reading.
Critical Vulnerability
Redcar's eagerness to attack at home could be their undoing. When the Steelmen commit both full-backs forward, the channel between centre-back and full-back opens up β precisely the zone where Macclesfield's wide players, including the newly arrived Jon Ustabasi and the electric Isaac Buckley-Ricketts, scorer of the second goal in that famous win over Palace, love to operate. If Redcar's wide midfielders do not track back diligently, the Silkmen will create two-versus-one overloads all afternoon, and at this level a team with Macclesfield's quality rarely needs a second invitation.
Team News & Squad Status
Redcar Athletic π’
- League position: 3rd in the Northern Premier League Premier Division β 18 points from 8 games, promotion form continuing after last season's Division One East title.
- Manager Carl Jarrett has no new suspension worries and is expected to name close to his strongest available XI for the club's biggest-ever home cup tie.
- Goalkeeper Josh Mazfari has established himself as first choice between the posts ahead of Lewis McDonald.
- Club captain Kevin Burgess anchors the defence; summer defensive additions Nathan Guru, Danni Lay and Mitchell Parkinson have all settled quickly.
- Midfield engine room: Glen Butterworth β signed from Stockton Town β and JJ Bartliff are the platform, with Curtis Round, Owen Burns, Oscar Fletcher and Lewis Hawkins providing rotation and creativity.
- Attack: veteran target man Adam Boyes and Bradley Fewster lead the line, with Louis Johnson, Luke Spalding and Romanian forward Andrei Ardelean offering pace in reserve.
- Form: W4 D1 L3 across the opening league fixtures β an excellent return at a brand-new level, including a battling 1-1 draw at Quorn.
Macclesfield π‘
- League: National League North (sixth tier), managed by John Rooney, who took over in July 2025 and masterminded last season's historic run to the FA Cup fourth round.
- Emotional backdrop: the club continues to honour the memory of young forward Ethan McLeod, who tragically passed away in December 2025 β the squad remains united behind his family and legacy.
- New signing Jon Ustabasi has arrived this summer, with Rooney personally welcoming the attacking addition as the Silkmen look to refresh their forward options.
- Record scorer Danny Elliott leads the line; he struck 41 times in the 2024/25 title season and grabbed a hat-trick in last season's cup run against AFC Totton.
- Experienced spine: keeper Max Dearnley passed 75 appearances for the club last term, while defender Rollin Menayese brings EFL pedigree.
- Midfield options: Paul Dawson, Regan Griffiths, Danny Whitehead, James Edmondson, Elliot Osborne and Josh Kay give Rooney enviable depth.
- Wide threats: Isaac Buckley-Ricketts β scorer in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace β and Dontai Gabidon provide genuine pace.
Predicted Lineups
| Redcar Athletic 4-4-2 | Macclesfield 4-2-3-1 |
|---|---|
| Josh Mazfari (GK) | Max Dearnley (GK) |
| Danni Lay (RB) | Luke Matheson (RB) |
| Kevin Burgess (CB) | Rollin Menayese (CB) |
| Nathan Guru (CB) | Sam Heathcote (CB) |
| Ciaran Banks (LB) | Cameron Borthwick-Jackson (LB) |
| Oscar Fletcher (RM) | Josh Kay (RW) |
| JJ Bartliff (CM) | Paul Dawson (CM) |
| Glen Butterworth (CM) | Regan Griffiths (CM) |
| Curtis Round (LM) | Elliot Osborne (AM) |
| Adam Boyes (ST) | Jon Ustabasi (LW) |
| Bradley Fewster (ST) | Danny Elliott (ST) |
Head-to-Head Record
Fascinatingly, this will be the very first competitive meeting between Redcar Athletic and Macclesfield FC. The two clubs have never crossed paths in league or cup action β hardly surprising given that Redcar have spent most of their history in the Wearside League and Northern League while Macclesfield have climbed from the North West Counties League to the National League North. There is no historical template to follow, no ghosts of old results haunting either dressing room; this is a genuine blank page, and that only adds to the intrigue for the neutrals. For punters who like studying head-to-head trends before placing a wager, our draw prediction page explains how first-time meetings tend to shape the markets.
What history does tell us is how both clubs have fared as giantkillers and giantkillees in recent seasons. Macclesfield's 2025/26 cup odyssey β wins over Atherton Laburnum Rovers, Nantwich Town, Stamford, a 6-3 thriller against AFC Totton, a dramatic extra-time triumph at Slough Town and the seismic 2-1 third-round defeat of holders Crystal Palace before bowing out to Brentford β marked the first time since their reformation that the Silkmen had reached the third round. Redcar, meanwhile, have spent the last two seasons hoovering up honours: the 2024/25 Northern League Division One title, then the 2025/26 NPL Division One East crown. Something has to give on Teesside β and if you're building a qualifying-round accumulator, our accumulator betting guide shows you how to structure it responsibly.
Key Players Comparison
Role: Target forward / penalty-box striker
The veteran front man is Redcar's reference point in attack β a physical, old-school centre-forward who attacks crosses, bullies defenders and converts the half-chances that define tight cup ties. Against a Macclesfield back four with EFL experience he faces the stiffest test of his season, but Boyes has scored at every level he has played and lives for afternoons like this.
Role: Lone striker / record goalscorer
Quite simply the most dangerous non-league forward either of these clubs has produced in the modern era. Elliott plundered 41 goals in all competitions during the 2024/25 title-winning season, added a hat-trick in last season's cup run against Totton, and sits as the club's record scorer. His movement between a seventh-tier centre-back and covering midfielder will be the single biggest tactical problem Redcar must solve.
The contrast in styles is delicious. Boyes is the spearhead of a direct, set-piece-focused 4-4-2; Elliott is the polished finisher at the tip of a possession-hungry 4-2-3-1. Whichever striker imposes his game on the other will likely decide the tie β and in knockout football, elite finishing usually trumps elite effort. Before backing any goalscorer markets, it's worth reading our banker of the day analysis, where we flag the most reliable selections across the weekend's fixtures.
The Managers
Carl Jarrett (Redcar Athletic)
Jarrett took the reins at Green Lane at the start of 2024 and has presided over the most successful period in the club's history. Tasked with steadying a newly promoted Northern League side, he instead delivered back-to-back titles β the 2024/25 Northern League Division One championship followed by the 2025/26 NPL Division One East crown β earning the Steelmen a first-ever season at Step 3. Assisted by Dave McTiernan, Lee Bullock and Paul Franklin, Jarrett has built a side in his own image: organised, honest, fiercely competitive and utterly committed to the community club ethos.
His summer recruitment has been equally shrewd, with Glen Butterworth's arrival from Stockton Town typifying a policy of signing proven performers at the level. Jarrett has spoken all season about Redcar's "elevation" being embraced rather than feared, and a victory β or even a gutsy performance β against the Silkmen would further cement his status as the most important figure in the club's short history.
John Rooney (Macclesfield)
Rooney's first year in management could hardly have been more eventful. Appointed in July 2025 after Robbie Savage's departure to Forest Green Rovers, the former Barrow and Stockport midfielder β a National League title winner as a player and twice the division's Player of the Year β led the Silkmen on an unforgettable cup run while steadying their league campaign. He also navigated unimaginable heartbreak with the loss of Ethan McLeod, personally calling every player to deliver the news, and has spoken movingly about the squad's togetherness since.
On the pitch, Rooney wants his teams to dominate the ball and attack with pace β an approach that humbled Premier League opposition last January. He has been refreshingly candid about his ambitions to manage as high as possible, ideally with Macclesfield, and ties like this one at Green Lane are exactly the kind his full-time, professionalised squad are expected to navigate. His management of the occasion β keeping complacency out of a dressing room full of cup heroes β will be as important as his tactics.
Betting Predictions & Tips
Odds: 1.55 (European/Decimal)
The Silkmen are a division higher, operate a substantially larger budget, field players with Football League and National League pedigree across every line, and possess the competition's best story β and one of its best strikers β over the past two seasons. Redcar's home form and cup fervour make them awkward opponents, but the gulf in individual quality should tell over 90 minutes. Macclesfield beat far stronger sides than this during last season's run, and John Rooney has had two weeks since the draw was made to prepare his team properly. At 1.55, the away win is short but entirely justified, and it anchors our staking plan for the weekend. For similar confidence selections, browse our sure win predictions page.
Odds: 1.72
Macclesfield's cup games last season were anything but sterile β the 6-3 win over AFC Totton and the 3-1 extra-time epic at Slough Town underline how open Rooney's sides become in knockout football. Redcar, for their part, have scored freely in the NPL Premier Division this term but have also conceded in the majority of their fixtures, a natural by-product of their attacking intent at home. With Elliott leading one line and Boyes the other, we expect chances at both ends. Our full reasoning on totals betting is mirrored on the over/under prediction hub, where this market is tracked daily.
Odds: 1.80
Redcar have genuine goal threat from open play and, crucially, from set pieces β captain Kevin Burgess and Nathan Guru are aerial menaces at corners and long throws, and Green Lane's tight dimensions compress the pitch in the hosts' favour. Macclesfield kept only sporadic clean sheets during their cup run last season and are hardly a defensive juggernaut away from Moss Rose. We project a goal apiece as the modal outcome before the Silkmen pull away. You can compare this angle with our specialist GG/NG (both teams to score) predictions feed, which filters matches by BTTS probability.
Odds: 2.05
The Macclesfield record scorer starts every big game and converts at a rate most defenders at this level simply cannot live with. Elliott's movement off the shoulder of the last defender β learned in the National League with Barrow and Stockport β is precisely the weapon that unpicks part-time back lines, and he has scored in every round of a cup competition before. Against a seventh-tier defence facing its first elite striker of the season, 2.05 is generous. For broader scorer-market strategy, our bet of the day feature regularly highlights value in the goals markets.
Odds: 11.00
Our headline prediction is a 1-3 away victory: Redcar's set-piece threat and home energy earn them a deserved consolation, but Macclesfield's class in the final third produces three goals across the two halves. A speculative correct-score punt at 11.00 should be staked small β no more than a tenth of a unit β but the scoreline prices in both the hosts' attacking upside and the visitors' superiority. If you prefer to spread risk, pairing the away win with over 2.5 goals in a double chance / combined markets approach achieves a similar exposure at shorter odds. New to reading prices like 11.00? Our beginner-friendly guide to reading betting odds explains implied probability in plain English.
π Final Score Prediction
Match Analysis
We expect a wonderful cup tie that ultimately follows the logical hierarchy. Redcar will start ferociously β Green Lane will be rocking, the Steelmen's 4-4-2 will press high, and the first 20 minutes could genuinely be uncomfortable for the Silkmen. If the hosts score first, from a set piece or a Boyes knockdown, the tie could briefly tilt towards an upset. But class is class: Macclesfield's full-backs will gradually push Redcar's wide men back, Griffiths and Dawson will seize midfield, and the chances will begin to flow for Elliott, Kay and Ustabasi. Our model projects Macclesfield to create roughly twice the expected goals of their hosts over the 90 minutes, with the most likely goal windows between minutes 25-40 and 60-80 as the favourites' tempo wears the part-timers down.
The 1-3 scoreline reflects our belief that Redcar's set-piece threat and never-say-die spirit are good for one goal β but that Macclesfield possess three distinct match-winners to Redcar's none. Elliott gets on the scoresheet, one of the wide players adds a second, and a late third on the counter puts the tie to bed. Redcar exit with heads held high and a five-figure windfall in gate receipts and prize money; Macclesfield march on to the Third Qualifying Round draw, keeping alive the dream of another cup romance. For more scoreline analysis across the weekend's fixtures, visit our dedicated correct score tips section, and remember the principles in our football betting mistakes to avoid guide before staking.
Key Insights & Statistics
- Redcar Athletic are playing in the Northern Premier League Premier Division for the first time in club history after winning the 2025/26 Division One East title β and sit 3rd with 18 points from 8 games.
- Macclesfield are the FA Cup's modern romantic story: the reformed club's 2025/26 run to the fourth round included a 2-1 third-round giantkilling of holders Crystal Palace and a narrow defeat to Brentford.
- Danny Elliott is Macclesfield's all-time record goalscorer and scored a hat-trick in last season's competition against AFC Totton β he has 41-goal single-season pedigree.
- John Rooney's only managerial silverware so far is Macclesfield's fairytale cup run β his sides play expansive, high-scoring knockout football (6-3 vs Totton, 3-1 aet at Slough).
- This is the first-ever competitive meeting between the clubs; Redcar have never faced National League North opposition in the FA Cup.
- Redcar's Green Lane home is one of the most atmospheric grounds at Step 3 β expect a season's best crowd for the biggest fixture in the club's 33-year history.
- The winners pocket Β£1,125 in prize money and a place in the Third Qualifying Round on 3 October 2026.
- Carl Jarrett has won back-to-back league titles since taking charge in early 2024 β his win percentage is among the best of any manager at Steps 4-5 in that period.
Conclusion
Redcar Athletic versus Macclesfield is the FA Cup qualifying rounds at their very best: a rapidly rising community club from the Teesside coast against the reigning fairytale kings of the competition. Carl Jarrett's Steelmen have earned this stage through back-to-back promotions and a fearless start to life at Step 3, and no one at Green Lane will be satisfied with simply making up the numbers. A famous result is not beyond them β cup football at this level has produced far bigger shocks than a seventh-tier side beating a sixth-tier one.
Yet the cold reality of the betting markets exists for a reason. Macclesfield are a season ahead in their own fairytale, boasting a record-setting striker in Danny Elliott, a manager in John Rooney who has already outfoxed Premier League opposition, and a squad depth that allows them to absorb an early storm and still win the war of attrition. Our prediction of a 1-3 away win respects everything Redcar have built while acknowledging the quality gap.
Whatever the score, afternoons like this are why the FA Cup remains the greatest knockout competition in world football. For more analysis across this weekend's qualifying ties and beyond, bookmark our hot predictions hub, build your slips with the win accumulator tool, and always gamble responsibly β this is a game to be savoured first and wagered second.