BASINGSTOKE Town manager Jason Bristow says that his in-form side are relishing the challenge of taking on Ebbsfleet United in the FA Cup on Saturday.

The game will see two of the Vanarama Conference South’s current top five do battle, with a place in the fourth qualifying round of the world’s most famous cup competition up for grabs.

Town moved two points clear at the top of the table with a 1-0 win over Whitehawk on Tuesday night, while pre-season title favourites Ebbsfleet are currently four points back in fourth.

It’s all set up for an excellent game, and it’s one that Bristow is relishing.

“A lot of people were disappointed with the draw and there are other sides who we would possibly rather have played, but we are looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s a game that will see two good sides up against each other, and I would not like to say which way it would go.

“Ebbsfleet get good crowds at home and are a good side. It’s going to be tough but we have shown good character in the last couple of games and will relish the challenge.

“It will be a close game, the sort of game where both sides will have spells where they are on top. We will need to take our opportunities when they come up and defend stoutly, especially from crosses into the box.”

The teams have already met once this season, and Basingstoke came out on top, Shaun McAuley, pictured left, scoring from a long-range free-kick to win a league match between the sides at The Soccer AM Stadium.

“It’s a game that could have gone either way,” Bristow added. “We scored a goal out of nothing and they hit the crossbar twice, so they will not read too much into it, and neither should we, because it will be totally different on Saturday.”

Town go into the game having won their last four games, and six of their last seven in the league and FA Cup, but they have injury concerns over McAuley (calf), Simon Dunn (hamstring), Nathan Smart (stomach) and Chris Flood (shoulder). One player who looks likely to miss a few games in the near future is Manny Williams, who was sent off after being accused of spitting at an opponent during Saturday’s win at Concord Rangers.

The striker denies any wrongdoing, and Bristow hinted that an appeal may not be out of the question.

“Manny denies spitting at anyone and he’s the last person that you would expect to do something like that,” Bristow added. “We will have a look at the video, see what is what and take it from there.”