South Shields travel to Scunthorpe United on Tuesday for a meeting between the sides sitting second and third in Vanarama National League North (7.45pm kick-off).
Both teams have earned 14 points from their opening seven matches, with Scunthorpe currently above the Mariners by virtue of their better goal difference.
Shields continued their excellent start to life in tier six with a 4-0 win over Banbury United on Saturday, while Scunthorpe battled to a 2-2 draw with Alfreton Town.
The sides met in the fourth qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup last season, with Dylan Mottley-Henry's goal proving the difference in a 1-0 win for Shields.
Julio's thoughts
Although Tuesday is a game between two of the early-season pace-setters, Shields manager Julio Arca insists the standings mean little at this point of the campaign.
He said: “I’m not paying much attention to the league table at this stage.
“It’s good to see us up there, but there’s a long way to go and we’ve got a massive test on Tuesday against one of the strongest teams in the league.
“It’s going to be a tough game for sure.
“They will try to play football so it should be a good game, but it will be difficult.
“We’ll approach the game the same way we have all of our matches so far, and will be giving it our all to get a positive result.”
Team news
Shields are assessing the fitness of midfielder CJ Clarke, who was withdrawn with a groin injury during Saturday’s win.
Information for supporters
Kick-off at Glanford Park - which has a post code of DN15 8TD - is at 7.45pm.
South Shields supporters have been allocated the AMS 84-103 section of the stadium, and can take advantage of early bird ticket rates until 4.45pm on the day of the game by clicking here.
Fans can pay at the turnstiles at a price of £20 for adults, £15 for those aged 65+, Under-21s, students and key workers, £10 for under-18s and free for under-12s (maximum of two under-12s free per paying adult or concession).
The game is also being streamed live on National League TV, which can be accessed by clicking here.
The stream is being shown in the Rocket Stand bar at 1st Cloud Arena, with supporters invited to book a table by sending an email to info@southshieldsfc.co.uk. The bar will open at 6pm and live commentary will be provided in the venue by Chris May and Ronnie Peet.
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