🏏 Sat, 6 Dec 2025 15:00 GMT
Grimsby
vs
Wealdstone
4-1-4-1 vs Positions estimated ※ estimated
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Grimsby line up in a 4-1-4-1 with George McEachran, 25, screening the back four. The left-footed midfielder spent 13 years in Chelsea's academy and was in the matchday squad for the 2019 Europa League final, then took loan spells at MVV Maastricht and SC Cambuur in the Netherlands before settling at Grimsby, where he was voted Player of the Season in 2024-25.
- The two inside midfielders in front of him could hardly be more different. Jamie Walker, 32, scored 54 goals in 240 appearances for Heart of Midlothian, won the Scottish Championship twice and chipped in with 32 goals at Bradford City; the Scot plays off his left foot and thrives in the penalty area. Kieran Green, 28, climbed out of the non-league with FC Halifax Town and helped Grimsby reach an FA Cup quarter-final, long-range goals included.
- Both wide men are inverted. Charlie Vernam, 29, is a right-footed left winger who lives on cutting inside to shoot; a Derby County product with spells at Burton Albion and Bradford City, he is in his second stint at Grimsby. On the opposite flank, 23-year-old Dara Byrne is left-footed on the right, an Ireland Under-21 international who moved from St Patrick's Athletic to MK Dons after a loan at Shamrock Rovers.
- Jayze Kabia leads the line. The 25-year-old Irish centre-forward, 1.84m tall, scored 16 goals in 44 games as Truro City won the National League South, and before that helped Shelbourne win promotion to the League of Ireland Premier Division, hat-trick included. A late developer who has climbed from the non-league into the EFL, he is Grimsby's only recognised striker on the pitch from the start.
- The back line blends size with ball-playing. Harvey Rodgers, 29 and 1.88m, came through Hull City and arrived in 2023 after establishing himself at Accrington Stanley. Doug Tharme, 26, worked his way up through Wrexham's youth ranks and a string of non-league clubs, and is tied down until 2028. Cameron McJannet, 27, is the outlier at 1.73m, a left-footed defender who builds play from the back.
- McJannet's CV is a cup story in itself: 142 appearances and the captaincy at Derry City, plus a goal in the 2022 FAI Cup final, after coming through the academies at Stoke City and Luton Town. At left-back, Reece Staunton, 23, made his Bradford City debut at 15 and rebuilt his career with 98 games at Spennymoor Town in National League North before returning to the EFL.
- Christy Pym takes the gloves at 30. He was behind the meanest defence in the division when Mansfield Town won promotion to League One, and has been first choice at Peterborough United and Exeter City. A Northern Ireland call-up came in 2024 through his grandmother's heritage, and his reflexes and positioning will be tested by the long balls and set pieces a first-round tie tends to invite.
- Grimsby's bench carries international caps. Kenya's Clarke Oduor, 26, is a Leeds United academy graduate who made 47 Championship appearances for Barnsley and can cover central midfield or left-back. Faroe Islands midfielder Geza David Turi, 24, won the league with Vikingur Gota, played in the Europa Conference League and scored against Croatia in World Cup qualifying. Right-back Tyrell Warren, 27, is a Manchester United youth product.
- Wealdstone name D. Baptiste in goal, C. McAvoy at the back and O. Olomola furthest forward, with E. Boldewijn, D. Kadji, N. Tshikuna and T. Agyemang among the midfield options. A. Georgiou, O. Mussa, S. Hassan and D. Nkrumah wait on the bench, and how much the visitors can turn that depth into second-half pressure against Grimsby's 4-1-4-1 will decide whether this becomes a cup upset.