TONIGHT is a big night for both Warrington Town and Warrington Rylands – even though only one of them is actually playing.

Town are in action tonight as they play their game in hand on the sides around them in the race for a Northern Premier League Premier Division play-off spot.

Mark Beesley’s side head south to take on Basford United as they aim to bounce back from Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Mickleover.

Despite that setback, their fate remains in their own hands as none of the top six sides were able to win at the weekend.

Victory at Greenwich Avenue tonight will not only extend their lead over sixth-placed Whitby Town to four points, but it will also take them above Scarborough Athletic into fourth by virtue of their superior goal difference.

However, they are set to be without top scorer Jordan Buckley, who limped out of Saturday’s defeat with a hamstring injury, while on-loan left-back Lewis Coulton has a similar issue.

Basford won the reverse fixture 3-2 at Cantilever Park in September but have won just five league games since then to slide alarmingly down the table.

They currently occupy the relegation play-off spot but their superior points-per-game ratio compared to other Step 3 clubs looks set to see them avoid the drop.

Meanwhile, Warrington Rylands could see their NPL West Division title hopes either boosted or dented tonight despite not being in action.

They will no doubt be keeping an eye on events at Bootle, where second-placed Workington play one of the two games in hand they have on Dave McNabb’s side.

Table-topping Blues are currently four points clear at the summit – a lead that will be reduced to one should the Cumbrians win on Merseyside tonight.

Rylands travel to Workington for a huge promotion showdown on Saturday.