Bury vs Harrogate Town Prediction & Preview - FA Cup
Bury FC's 2-1 win at home to Bromsgrove Sporting on 3 October was the first time in this cup run that Harrogate Town's next opponents had been made to sweat, and it is the result that frames Saturday. Bury had put eight past Wythenshawe FC and five past Workington before that. Bromsgrove got them to within a goal.
Here is the tie in short:
- Fixture: Bury FC v Harrogate Town
- Competition: FA Cup, fourth qualifying round
- Date: Saturday 17 October 2026
- Kick-off: 12:30 BST
- Venue: Gigg Lane, Bury
- Full details: Bury vs Harrogate Town match page
Bury's cup run has got harder every round
Three home ties, three wins, 15 goals scored and five conceded across their last five matches. That is a strong line on paper, and it hides the fact that the margin has narrowed each time Bury have played: 8-0, then 5-1, then 2-1 against Bromsgrove, with George Glendon and Mo Touray scoring.
Anthony Johnson's side are solid at Gigg Lane - won 3 of 4 at home in that run - but the two defeats in those five came in July friendlies against Accrington Stanley (0-1 away) and Morecambe (0-2 at home), the only Football League opposition they have faced. Bury failed to score in both.
This is the first competitive meeting between the two clubs, according to Bury FC.
Harrogate Town have won four of their last six
Simon Weaver's Harrogate Town sit second in the National League with 25 points from 12 games, behind an unbeaten Boreham Wood, and they have won four of their last six with 13 scored against eight conceded. Last Saturday they ground out a 1-0 win away to Woking.
The caveat is how open their games are. Five of those six produced three or more goals, both sides scored in four, and they shipped 1-4 away to Boreham Wood on 19 September and lost 1-2 at home to AFC Fylde four days earlier. They have never failed to score in those six. They have also not kept many quiet - two clean sheets.
So: a side that will create, and a side that can be got at. Bury need the second half of that to be true for 90 minutes.
What time is kick-off and is Bury vs Harrogate Town on TV?
Bury FC v Harrogate Town kicks off at 12:30 BST on Saturday 17 October 2026 at Gigg Lane, and the FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie is live on the BBC - iPlayer, Red Button, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Football YouTube channel, per Bury FC.
Team news
Harrogate midfielder Bailey Hobson is a doubt after a knee injury picked up in training, which kept him out of the Woking win; Weaver said he is hopeful it is only a couple of weeks, and Hobson had been nominated for the National League Player of the Month award after four goals in six appearances, according to the Harrogate Advertiser.
Bury FC vs Harrogate Town prediction
Our prediction is a Harrogate Town win at Bury FC in this FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie, by 2-1. Harrogate are two divisions clear of their hosts and come in off a clean sheet at Woking, and a side that has scored in all six of its last matches should find a way at Gigg Lane.
Bury's goals, though, are real, and Harrogate have conceded in four of six. A one-goal Harrogate win with both scoring is the shape this has.
Our prediction: Bury FC 1-2 Harrogate Town
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