The two in-form sides in Sky Bet League Two meet at the VBS Community Stadium on Saturday as Sutton and Port Vale lock horns for the first time.
Port Vale's run of four consecutive league wins, which was stretched in all competitions by a 1-0 defeat of Rochdale on Tuesday in the Papa John's Trophy, saw manager Darrell Clarke named as September's Sky Bet Manager of the Month for League Two, with Matt Gray among the nominees, and Vale come in to the game in third place in the league table, five points behind leaders Forest Green, whose only league defeat came at the hands of Port Vale at the end of August. Our visitors tomorrow are unbeaten away from home since losing at Northampton on the opening day of the season, and apart from the win at Forest Green they have also picked up maximum points at Swindon and Scunthorpe, and drawn at Stevenage.
Sutton, meanwhile, have won four of the last five league games, and have four consecutive league and cup wins at home, and moved in to the top half of the table with last week's fine 2-0 win at Northampton which broke the duck away from the VBS.
Sutton will definitely be without striker Omar Bugiel, who is away with Lebanon for the World Cup qualifiers against Iraq and Syria, and was an unused substitute in Thursday's goalless draw with Iraq in Qatar - the game against Syria is in Jordan on Tuesday. Kenny Davis will also be missing after injuring a hamstring in training while one other injury picked up at Northampton could necessitate a change. Isaac Olaofe missed last week through injury but U's hope he will be available.
Tomorrow's referee is Declan Bourne, who is in his second season on the Football League list and has taken charge of several Sutton games in the National League.
Ground tickets for home supporters will be on sale from the ticket kiosk before the game, but anyone wanting to buy on the day is encouraged to arrive by 2.00pm to avoid congestion around the ticket kiosk and turnstiles. It is still possible to buy tickets on line here and avoid the queues.
If you can't get to the game you can order a copy of the matchday programme on line here, packed with all the regular features including the manager's thoughts, Mark Frake's look back at games around this date in history like the Amateur Cup tie against Carshalton 95 years ago, as well as continuing his look back at grounds we've visited in yesteryear - this week it's Richmond Road. Andrew Church continues his series, while John Parsons confirms the latest Supporters' Club travel details. Plus - as requested by the readers - the latest player statistics.
As this is an international weekend the game is being live streamed and video passes can be bought for £10 here. Anyone unable to watch but who would like to listen is advised to buy a monthly(£4.49) or annual(£45) audio pass, which will cover audio commentaries for all games within the relevant period, including Tuesday's Papa John's Trophy game at Portsmouth which will also be live streamed.
The club bars will be open from 12 noon tomorrow and also after the game, when you can come in and discuss the game over a drink, and see the latest Strikers Are Key draw.