Bradford Park Avenue can take renewed hope into tomorrow night’s Vanarama Conference North derby clash at promotion-chasing Guiseley.

The clubs have had vastly differing fortunes this season, with fifth-placed Guiseley looking for their 16th victory to consolidate their standing in the play-off places.

Avenue remain second-from-bottom but they would leap above Colwyn Bay and Stalybridge Celtic out of the relegation places with a win at Nethermoor.

And they have boosted their chances of beating the drop by taking four points from their last two league games.

Bradford boss John Deacey was delighted with the spirit his players showed in the 1-1 home draw against Lowestoft Town at the weekend after Jamie Price picked up a second yellow card, leaving Avenue with ten men for 70 minutes plus five minutes of stoppage time, in which Lowestoft snatched their equaliser.

Deacey said: “I thought the players played well and defended really well and showed great character. It’s obviously disappointing to concede with the last kick of the game but, under the circumstances, it was definitely a point gained.”

“I think if it was a level playing field the outcome of the game could have been different and we could have picked up all three points. Unfortunately we didn’t manage it but we move on.”

Mark Bower’s men are on a high after their 2-0 win over fellow contenders Boston United on Saturday opened up a three-point gap between them and the sixth-placed Pilgrims.

The Guiseley manager said: “We are really looking forward to it and the old cliché comes out that in local derbies the formbook goes out of the window.

"But Avenue are in a good bit of form right now after a good win over Stockport and a draw on Saturday.

“There are a couple of players who have been involved at both clubs and that always adds a little bit to games like these. Both clubs are desperate for the points for differing reasons.”

Meanwhile, Farsley also face a tough fixture that could determine their promotion hopes in the Evo-Stik First Division North. Neil Parsley’s men are now seven points adrift of the play-off places after taking just two points from the last 12 on offer.

Tomorrow night’s visitors to Throstle Nest are second-placed Darlington 1883, who are looking for the three points that would take them back to the summit. Another defeat for Farsley could prove fatal for their aims of reaching the end-of-season extras.

In the Toolstation Northern Counties East Premier Division, Liversedge face the daunting trip to Shaw Lane Aquaforce. The home side would go second with a win and still have games in hand on their title rivals.