Having provided the scene for Aldershot's promotion party, City now return to their own attempt to gain promotion with a visit to bogey side Rushden & Diamonds on Saturday. Among those looking to start will be Steve Basham, who was restricted to a 5-minute cameo on Tuesday night following his injury. Paul Tisdale may, however, look to return to a 4-4-2 formation which could pave the way for Dean Moxey and Wayne Carlisle to return to the line-up.

Rushden & Diamonds, under the management of Garry Hill, have endured a stop-start season having been tipped by many as promotion candidates before the season started. Inconsistency has dogged the Northamptonshire club, and they missed out on silverware a couple of weeks ago by losing out in a penalty shoot-out to Aldershot in the Setanta Shield. A likely starter for the home side will be Jon Challinor, who left City after the Wembley heartache last season to be closer to his family.

In order for City to get back into the playoff places they will have to do something never previously done - that is to beat Rushden & Diamonds in a league fixture. City's only win in the matches between the sides was a 3-1 victory in the FA Cup 2nd Round in 02/03, a win which set up the visit to Charlton. The last two matches at Nene Park have both ended 3-0 to the home side, in last season's league encounter (Hill's first match in charge) and in this season's FA Trophy.