Hednesford Town and Gainsborough Trinity square off in the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon, guaranteeing that a team from either the seventh or eight tier will make the second round.
Both teams are in the bottom half of their respective divisions, Hednesford sitting in 16th place in the Northern League West and the visitors down in 20th position of the Northern League Premier.
Match preview
In front of the BBC cameras in October, Hednesford held high-flying National League side Gateshead to a 1-1 draw at Keys Park before coming through 3-1 in the subsequent replay.
The 39 hardy-souls who made the long trip to the North-East were rewarded with the club's most famous victory for more than a decade, the Pitmen coming from behind to seal their spot in the first round.
Steve King and his players deserved their plaudits from that fixture, and for their 3-2 triumph at league leaders Widnes FC that followed four days later.
However, Hednesford have been desperately disappointing in their most recent two games, collecting just one point from home fixtures against the bottom two sides in their division in Hanley Town and Atherton Collieries.
As well as requiring a late equaliser to scramble a draw with Hanley, Hednesford lost 2-1 to Atherton despite having a player advantage for the final 30 minutes, the visitors scoring their winner when down to 10 men.
A free midweek gives King and his players a well-deserved rest after a relentless campaign thus far, yet it remains to be seen whether it will improve their chances versus a Gainsborough side growing in confidence.
Last time out, Trinity recorded a 4-1 win at the home of Clitheroe, who sit on the same amount of points and games as Hednesford in the Northern League West.
Russ Wilcox's side were playing their first game in 11 days, Gainsborough also defeating National League opposition in the form of Boston United on the same evening that Hednesford were upsetting the odds at Gateshead.
Gainsborough impressively recorded a 4-0 win in Boston, building on having secured a 2-2 draw against their fifth-tier opponents three days earlier.
Although they sit just two points above bottom spot in the Northern Premier, Gainsborough have at least three games in hand on all the teams above them.
They have also not suffered defeat since losing 2-0 at Macclesfield Town - the unbeaten league leaders - on September 24.
Team News
Hednesford will be forced into at least one change with Ollie Harrison cup-tied for this fixture. Josh Endall will be restored to the centre of the backline as a straight replacement.
Manny Duku is on standby to replace Rob Stevenson, who picked up an injury last weekend, in attack, while Jake Jervis is an alternative to Dominic McHale.
Omar Holness will retain his spot in central midfield if Simeon Maye remains sidelined.
Given the manner of the win over Clitheroe and a midweek with no game, Gainsborough could stick with the same starting lineup.
Former Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Aaron Simpson - who also appeared on Love Island in 2021 - was recalled at right-back for that fixture and should feature again.
Hednesford Town possible starting lineup:
Rose; Rowe, Endall, Johnson, Taylor; Holness, Spence, McHale, Trickett-Smith, Bearne; Duku
Gainsborough Trinity possible starting lineup:
Wharton; Simpson, Jackson, Conway, Lancaster, Cogill, Butroid, Helliwell, Clarke, Howe, Preston
We say: Hednesford Town 2-3 Gainsborough Trinity
Both teams defied their place in the league pyramid and own form to upset the odds in the fourth qualifying round, putting them on somewhat of an even platform here. While Hednesford rose to the occasion versus Gateshead, we feel that Gainsborough will prove too strong in attack given their recent exploits on their travels.
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