FA CUP fever is set to take over north Hampshire on Saturday, with both Basingstoke Town and Hartley Wintney in third qualifying round action.

Town face Chelmsford City at The Camrose, while Hartley will be hoping to cause another upset by winning away at Eastbourne Borough.

For Basingstoke, the world's oldest cup competition comes as a welcome distraction from their poor start to the season.

Jason Bristow's men sit bottom of the National League South, having taken just six points from their opening 12 games, a record low.

Standing between them and a place in the fourth and final qualifying round are fellow National League South side Chelmsford.

Town manager Bristow said: "Cup runs are great in that they take the pressure of the league for a few days. It's important for us to take our focus off the league for a week and concentrate on the FA Cup.

"We want to make sure that we can look forward to the draw for the next round on Monday. If we manage to do that, we will be five games unbeaten, which gives us something to build on."

Combined Counties League outfit Hartley, who have beaten Southern League sides Fleet Town and Merthyr Town to reach this stage, also face National League South opposition in Eastbourne.

Joint manager Daniel Brownlie said: "It's going to be a huge test and could be our final, in that we may tell the players just to go out, enjoy it and see if they can cause another upset.

"There are not many clubs from our level left in, so there is a lot of support coming in for us. It's really good for the club.

"It should be a good away day for everyone and a chance for the lads to play on a nice pitch in a good stadium."