There are just four matches taking place in the Blue Square South this Tuesday with runaway league leaders set to edge closer to league victory with a win over Basingstoke.
County are 21 points clear at the top of the table and victories over Basingstoke and Weymouth on Saturday could see them move out of sight with ten matches remaining.
Basingstoke Town boss Frank Gray knows he has a difficult task ahead of him and will consider his tactics ahead of the tie.
He told This is Hampshire: "We know the way they play and might try a different system.
"There is the possibility of putting another man in midfield to shore things up but we have got to make sure we are positive as well as stopping Newport playing."
A weakened Town side lost 1-0 in their last encounter and will be looking to push the title-chasers all the way with a number of their key players fit.
Hampton & Richmond are five points clear of the relegation zone but are not out of danger yet, if their last performance is anything to go by.
The Beavers salvaged a point against bottom-side Weston-Super-Mare after a less-than-impressive showing, even by their standards.
This Tuesday's opposition are 12th placed Havant and Waterlooville's, who haven't played since their 1-0 loss to St Albans a week ago and although all of their remaining matches are must-wins, Hampton will take comfort from the fact that they have only played 27 games compared to 30 and 31 of their relegation rivals.
St Albans host 16th-placed Dorchester in their Blue Square South tie. The Saints have very little to play for, some eight points adrift of the play-off places and seemingly too far away from the relegation places to be concerned about the drop. The Magpies are six points worse off and will not have the same confidence going into the last stretch of the season. They will be buoyed by their 1-1 draw with Woking, however, and their 2-0 win over Bishop's Stortford to make a concerted push up the table.
Staines Town travel to Weymouth, hoping to eradicate the memory of their first loss in more than two months when they lost 2-1 at home to Eastleigh.
Bottom-club Weymouth will provide less of a test than the play-off chasing Spitifires, but will be taking nothing for granted after their loss.
The Terras' last outing was a morale sapping 4-0 loss to Bromley, which has been par for the course this season, hence their lowly situation at the bottom of the table. It is not impossible for them to climb out of the danger zone but at this late stage it will need a run of epic proportions to see them eclipse Weston-Super-Mare and Lewes, who are six points better off.
The fixtures in full:
Basingstoke v Newport County
Hampton & Richmond v Havant and W
St Albans v Dorchester
Weston-S-Mare OFF Bromley
Weymouth v Staines Town
Posted: Monday , March 01, 2010
I am surprised at the lack of optimism! Agreed I think the league is harder this year and there has b... MORE >>
By Orpewise on Mon, 26th July 10
| BlueSq South Standings | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basingstoke Town | 0 |
| 2 | Bishops Stortford | 0 |
| 3 | Boreham Wood | 0 |
| 4 | Braintree Town | 0 |
| 5 | Bromley | 0 |
| 6 | Chelmsford | 0 |
| 7 | Dartford | 0 |
| 8 | Dorchester | 0 |
| 9 | Dover | 0 |
| 10 | Eastleigh | 0 |
| Full standings | ||
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