There are probably easier fixtures to look at on paper.
Sutton United are top of the National League with four wins from four. Wealdstone arrive at the VBS Community Stadium sitting 22nd, still waiting for their first league victory of the season.
Seven goals scored against four. One goal conceded against seven. Twelve points against two.
It all points rather heavily in one direction.
Which, naturally, is exactly when you start getting nervous.
Because while Wealdstone’s results have not been particularly kind to them, there is enough in Gary Waddock’s side to suggest this should not simply be filed under home banker.
And there is one familiar face in particular who might fancy having something to say about it.
Four from four
Sutton’s start has been close to perfect.
Woking were beaten 3-0 on opening day, Altrincham 1-0 at the VBS, Hartlepool 2-1 and then Gateshead 1-0 on Friday night.
That final result might actually have been the most impressive of the lot.
Noah Nzuzi’s red card left Sutton playing the final half-hour with ten men, yet rather than simply hanging on for a point, Chris Agutter’s side found a winner when Emmanuel Osadebe crossed for Temi Babalola to head home.
Four games. Four wins.
Perhaps even more remarkably, the only goal Sutton have conceded so far was an own goal against Hartlepool.
No opposition player has scored against them.
The supplied preview material was compiled before the latest round of fixtures, but already showed the contrast between the sides, with Sutton at the top end of the table and Wealdstone struggling near the bottom.
Monday therefore presents a slightly different challenge.
We’ve seen Sutton win comfortably. We’ve seen them win ugly. We’ve now seen them win with ten men.
Can they win a game everyone expects them to win?
Wealdstone are better than the table suggests
Wealdstone’s opening four league matches have produced two draws and two defeats.
They began with a 2-2 draw at Fylde, lost 3-1 at home to Harrogate, were beaten 1-0 at Worthing and then rescued a point against Carlisle on Friday through an Aaron Henry free-kick in the 90th minute.
So, no win yet.
But equally, there are signs that this isn’t a side simply waiting to be rolled over.
Worthing only beat them by a single goal in a match where Wealdstone played much of the second half with ten men. Carlisle were seconds away from beating them before Henry’s late intervention.
There is some experience in the side, there is pace, and there are several different ways they can attack a game.
That last point could be particularly important.
What are Wealdstone likely to do?
Gary Waddock has already shown a willingness to change shape.
Wealdstone have used a back three this season but switched to a 4-4-2 against Worthing, when several changes were made to the starting XI.
What appears more consistent is the approach rather than the formation.
They can play directly into Luke Norris, they have runners who can work around him, and Aaron Henry gives them somebody capable of slowing the game down and playing through midfield when necessary.
That means Sutton cannot prepare for one single method.
If Wealdstone go long, Norris becomes the target.
If Sutton drop off to deal with that, Henry becomes capable of getting on the ball.
And if the U’s begin committing bodies forward, there is enough movement around Micah Obiero and the wider players to create problems in transition.
It is less about stopping Wealdstone playing one way and more about preventing them from moving comfortably between several.
The set-piece warning
This might be the biggest danger.
Aaron Henry has already demonstrated what he can do from dead balls.
Against Worthing, Wealdstone generated opportunities from free-kicks and long throws, with Norris providing a target inside the box.
Then against Carlisle, Henry stepped up in the final minute and scored directly from a free-kick to earn a point.
Given how strong Sutton have looked defensively, Wealdstone may not want to spend the afternoon trying to pass their way through a settled back line.
Free-kicks, corners and throw-ins offer another route.
So one of the simplest Sutton instructions might also be one of the most important.
Don’t give Henry unnecessary opportunities from 20 or 30 yards.
Temi’s latest examination
At the other end, Temi Babalola is suddenly becoming quite an awkward problem.
Two goals in two games have shown slightly different sides to him.
Against Hartlepool, he used his physicality to compete for a ball over the top and force his way into the scoring opportunity.
At Gateshead, he battled his way onto Osadebe’s cross and powered home the winner.
Those goals matter, obviously.
But so does the amount of attention he is beginning to demand from defenders.
Wealdstone have experience through former Crawley captain Dion Conroy, alongside Connor McAvoy, but if Babalola can occupy both centre-backs then Sutton’s other attacking players suddenly have more space.
David Ogbonna and Sam Folarin are precisely the sort of players who benefit when a defence becomes preoccupied with the striker.
Sutton do not necessarily need Temi to win every duel.
They need him to keep making defenders fight them.
The familiar face
And then there is Jayden Harris.
This one adds a little extra spice.
Harris left Sutton at the end of last season after his contract expired, with the club confirming his departure among the summer released list. He subsequently joined Wealdstone on a permanent deal and has been given the No.10 shirt.
He has also already been involved.
Harris was handed his first league start for Wealdstone in the defeat at Worthing, so he is very much available for selection rather than simply being part of the wider squad.
If he is selected at the VBS, you can probably add a little personal motivation to the tactical picture.
Harris spent two seasons with Sutton after arriving from Carlisle in 2024. His first campaign was cut short by an Achilles injury, but he became a significant part of Chris Agutter’s side the following season, making 49 appearances and scoring seven goals according to Sutton’s own profile.
He therefore knows a lot of the Sutton players, knows the ground and knows the manager.
And, rightly or wrongly, players returning to their former club often feel they have something to prove.
There may be absolutely no bitterness involved. Sutton released him at the end of his contract and both parties moved on.
But footballers are footballers.
If Jayden Harris gets a chance to score at the VBS on Monday afternoon, I doubt he’ll need much encouragement.
Three Wealdstone players to watch
Aaron Henry
Probably the most obvious danger going into this one.
Henry gives Wealdstone technical quality in midfield and has already shown how threatening he can be from set pieces.
His equaliser against Carlisle merely underlined it.
Sutton want him receiving the ball facing his own goal rather than being given time to turn and pick passes towards the front line.
And around the penalty area?
Don’t foul him.
Simple.
Micah Obiero
A familiar name from last season and still one of Wealdstone’s main attacking threats.
Obiero finished 2025/26 as the Stones’ Golden Boot winner and Players’ Player of the Season.
He has already scored this campaign and is particularly dangerous because he does not necessarily operate as a conventional striker.
He can drift away from the centre-backs, arrive around the second ball and find pockets between defence and midfield.
Which means if Will Nightingale or Alex Kirk step forward to challenge Norris, somebody needs to know where Obiero has gone.
Luke Norris
The experienced striker provides Wealdstone with an obvious physical reference point.
He can receive long passes, compete in the air, hold defenders off and bring players into the game.
That makes the battle around him more important than simply whether Sutton win the first header.
Norris might win plenty of them.
The real question is who wins the second ball.
If Jake Taylor, Osadebe and Sutton’s other midfielders dominate that area, a lot of Wealdstone’s direct play can be stopped before it develops.
And Jayden Harris...
I’m cheating slightly and making this three-and-a-half players to watch.
Because if Harris starts, it’s difficult to ignore the storyline.
He was a regular Sutton midfielder last season. He knows this ground, knows the players and knows exactly how Sutton try to operate.
Waddock has already given him a league start this season and Wealdstone’s confirmed squad list has him wearing No.10, so there is every chance he could feature on Monday.
Whether he actually has a point to prove is something only Harris knows.
But from a Sutton perspective, you would rather not find out.
Three key battles
Babalola against Conroy and McAvoy
Sutton’s striker is becoming increasingly important to the way this team functions.
If Wealdstone can deal comfortably with him using one defender, it frees another centre-half to cover runners.
If Temi forces two players to worry about him, suddenly Ogbonna, Folarin and Osadebe have areas to attack.
That could shape the entire game.
Sutton’s midfield against Henry and Harris
If Harris does start alongside or close to Henry, Wealdstone would have two technically capable midfielders with very different motivations.
Sutton need to make the middle uncomfortable.
Taylor gives Sutton control, Osadebe provides physicality and whoever completes that midfield needs to prevent Wealdstone receiving possession and simply turning towards goal.
Sutton have looked strongest this season when opponents are forced to play where Sutton want them to play.
That needs to continue.
Sutton’s centre-backs against Norris and Obiero
This is less about a conventional two-against-two and more about communication.
Norris can occupy the centre-halves.
Obiero can move around them.
If Sutton become too obsessed with winning the initial aerial ball, space can appear underneath.
Nightingale and Kirk have been excellent so far.
The midfield protection around them has been just as important.
Where Sutton can hurt them
Wealdstone have conceded in all four league games.
That alone should encourage Sutton.
But the answer probably isn’t to go flying at them from the first whistle.
Sutton’s success so far has come from being far more adaptable than they sometimes were last season.
They can play through midfield.
They can go direct towards Babalola.
They can attack space through Ogbonna and Folarin.
And then there is Dan Urpens’ long throw, which effectively gives Sutton another set piece every time they win possession high enough up the pitch.
The sensible approach might simply be to keep asking questions.
Put balls into the box.
Make Wealdstone defend second phases.
Attack the space when their wide players move forward.
And don’t become impatient if it remains 0-0 after half an hour.
Because the biggest danger in a game like this can be convincing yourself it should already be won.
Recent meetings
The recent record is mixed enough to provide another warning.
Sutton won 3-0 at the VBS in February, but Wealdstone had beaten the U’s 4-2 earlier in the season.
That October game was particularly painful because Sutton actually led 2-0 before the Stones turned it around.
Micah Obiero scored that afternoon.
The attached material shows three Sutton wins, two draws and one Wealdstone win across the last six meetings, while Gary Waddock’s own record against Sutton stands at two wins, one draw and three defeats from six.
So Sutton have generally had the better of it.
But certainly not always.
The Artie Intell read
There is something slightly fascinating about this one.
Gateshead was the sort of fixture where Sutton could arrive knowing an away point would hardly be disastrous.
Monday is different.
Sutton are top.
Wealdstone are 22nd.
It’s at the VBS.
Supporters will expect Sutton to win.
And managing that expectation might actually be the examination.
There is no reason for Sutton to suddenly change personality because they’ve won four matches.
They don’t need to prove they’re title contenders by trying to score three goals in the first 20 minutes.
Keep Norris away from dangerous second balls.
Don’t offer Aaron Henry cheap free-kicks.
Make Babalola an absolute nuisance.
And if Jayden Harris walks back out at the VBS in a Wealdstone shirt, don’t give him the sort of afternoon former players occasionally seem to enjoy far too much.
Four wins from four has already shown us plenty about this Sutton side.
Monday might tell us something else.
Can they be just as clinical when, for once, they’re the team everyone expects to win?