ANDOVER Town will kick off their second cup campaign of the season with a home tie against Wessex Division 1 side New Milton in the Hants Senior Cup tonight.

The Portway based club, who sit 33 league places above their opponents, will be fighting for a place in the second round of the cup, with the winner facing an away tie against Totton and Eiling.

And Andover will be hoping for a strong run in the competition after they were dumped out of the FA Cup following a shock 4-1 defeat to Hamworthy on Saturday.

With Town looking to win the cup for the first time in the club’s history, manager Neil Benson will likely name a strong line-up against a New Milton Side who have taken just two points from three games this season.

Goalkeeper Michael Weatherall is expected to start the game after Jamie Bray picking up an injury at the weekend.

Meanwhile the defence in front of him also likely to change with layers like Connor Cocklin and Bradley Benson possibly being drafted in to tighten the defence that leaked four goals against Hamworthy on Saturday.

With Sam Pekun and Lewis Benson starting every game this season, they will be expected to retain their positions in midfield, but with eight  different midfielders having played at some point in the season you could expect that any one of Chris Onoufriou, Alex Dockree or Oliver Yates to start.

With a lot of good attacking options at their disposal, Andover could try to play at a quick pace, using summer signing Suhael Odeh, or try and use more power and aerial presence in the box with Kevin Gibbens, signed from Blackfield and Langley in pre season.

New Milton will probably keep Goalkeeper Tom Rees in the starting tem while new manager Connor Natella is likely to adopt the 4-3-3 formation used in previous games this season including their recent 5-0 loss to AFC Stoneham.

With this only the second game since the departure of manager Callum Brooks to Southern League side Poole Town, a lot of changes could be made to the first team, as midfielders like Anthony Harris and Craig Barnett try to impress their new boss.

Forwards Bryce Banfield, Taylor Leonard and Sam Carter will all be looking to impress, as well as score their first goals of the season, but with Banfield and Carter moving to the bench for the game against Hythe and Dibden, and with one of their replacements Mike Kitson scoring for The Linnets, they may find it hard to regain their positions.

Andover have definitely had better form in the new season, losing only twice to Salisbury and Hamworthy United and sitting third in the Sydenhams Wessex League Premier.

In contrast, New Milton have struggled, gaining two points from three league games and being knocked out in the extra preliminary round of the FA Cup.

However, with everything to play for in a one off knockout game it could still be a very interesting match.

Andover Town vs. New Milton Town will kick-off at 7:45.

Gates will open approximately an hour before the kick-off.