Fareham Town hoping to see high numbers through the gates for 'El Creekio' derby battle with AFC Portchester

The Reds host the Royals in a game known as the 'El Creekio' derby in the Wessex League Premier Division after a draw and defeat to Dave Carter's side this season.

Pete Stiles' side were dumped out of the Hampshire Senior Cup at Portchester last month while the rivals played out a 2-2 draw at the same venue back in August.

Fareham have been well supported this season and have the highest average home attendance in the Wessex Premier (240) so far this season.

In their last outing - a 3-3 home draw with Hamworthy last month - a bumper crowd of 342 watched on at Cams Alders.

And Stiles says the club are hoping they can break through the 500-barrier in terms of attendance for their Royals meeting - providing the fixture survives after the recent wet weather.

The Fareham boss said: ‘That’s what’s being talked about, between 500-600 (supporters) for tomorrow so hopefully we can (get that).

‘Hopefully the weather holds off because the pitch is at the stage where if it was being played today the referee would say ‘yes’, but much more rain and I think it’s doubtful.

‘Hopefully we’re going to get a good gate, it’s nice for us to be in a position where we’re quite strong (squad-wise), I’ve only got a couple missing as opposed to having eight or 10 missing. I’ve actually got the inevitable task of leaving players out.’

Fareham will hand a debut to goalkeeper Henry Woodcock, who has swapped struggling Amesbury for Stiles' side on a dual-signing from Basingstoke Town.

But Portchester will arrive at Cams Alders on the back of a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions, with Carter's men winning four of those fixtures in the period.

Yet both sides could be a little under-cooked for the derby battle, with the postponement of their respective post-Christmas fixtures meaning the rivals face-off on the back of an 18-day stint without any competitive action.