Darlington will again be without two of their strikers when they face Durham City at Heritage Park this evening.

Quakers are confident that the game will be played, despite the current wet weather, as the Heritage Park pitch has drained well.

But David Dowson and Stephen Thompson miss out as Martin Gray's men bid to extend their lead at the top of the Northern League against 18th-placed Durham.

They are six points ahead of Spennymoor, who are home to Billinham Town, but they must again make do without Dowson and Thompson who missed Saturday's 3-0 win at Dunston.

Dowson has a groin injury while Thompson is not permitted to play under the terms of the transfer that saw him swap Durham for Darlington this month.

The forwards are among the five players that Quakers signed from the Citizens in the summer, but only two of them of them are available this evening.

Amar Purewal and captain Gary Brown were both at Durham last season, but Arjun Purewal sustained an ankle injury last time out at Heritage Park.

The absence of Dowson and Thompson means that Amar Purewal is likely to continue in attack this evening.

"I thought Amar up front was outstanding on Saturday," said Gray. "He was brayed all game and he kept going back for more and won his headers.

"Arj won't be back next weekend, possibly the weekend after. But Joe Tait and Gary Brown looked like a good pair against Dunston."

Darlington have won all five of their home matches, scoring 16 goals in the process, while Durham have conceded 14 in their three league away games.

Meanwhile, former Quakers manager Craig Liddle will attend this evening's game after accepting an invite from the Darlington Supporters Trust.

The trust is sponsoring the matchball, which entitled them to a pre-match meal for two and a signed matchball.

However, the trust decided that it would be appropriate to invite Liddle and his family to enjoy this hospitality package as a 'thank you', not only from trust members but, also Quakers supporters too.

Liddle, who now works in the youth system at Sunderland, was in charge during the club's administration last season.

"The trust is helping and supporting the club in many different ways," said trust chairman Doug Embleton. "Our fervent hope is that Martin Gray and his team are in the process of becoming the very next Darlo legends."