A 3-1 victory at bottom of the table Padiham thanks to goals from Nelson Mota, Graeme Armstrong and Stephen Thompson, saw Darlington overtake Salford City on goal difference.

The Quakers have three games in-hand on their two nearest rivals for the title, Salford and Northwich Victoria.

A large travelling contingent is expected to attend tomorrow, as Darlington look for their third straight victory.

Salford City have not played this week after their game away to Prescot Cables was postponed. While Northwich Victoria surprisingly lost 1-0 at home to Lancaster City.

Alan White’s serves his one match suspension, with Adam Mitchell also being suspended for the game. Both players started at Padiham, which will force Martin Gray into making at least two changes.

Armstrong was rested on Wednesday night, but came onto score the crucial second goal and he may come back into the starting eleven at Harrogate.

Ian Watson was injured on Wednesday night, however him and Chris Hunter, who have both been regulars this season, may well come back into the back four with White and Mitchell suspended.

Nathan Cartman returns to his former club having scored one goal in his opening four games for Darlington since joining in January.

When the teams met in October Amar Purewal scored a hat-trick, as Darlington came from behind to earn a 7-1 victory. However, today we received the sad news that Purewal will be out until the start of next season following a knee injury.

Harrogate have been one of the surprise teams in the division, currently lying in sixth place, largely down to the goals Cartman scored before his transfer. They have been on a fantastic run in recent months only losing two league games since the start of November.