TAUNTON Town face Tiverton Town tonight (ko 7.45pm), with the winners at Ladysmead earning a spot in the Evo-Stik Southern League Division 1 South & West playoff final.

The Peacocks face an away semi-final after finishing fourth in the league standings, Tiverton pipping them to third spot on the final day.

And it is Tivvy who go into the playoffs on better form, having won their last three, whereas the Peacocks have only won two of their last seven league matches - most recently drawing 0-0 with Bideford and losing 1-0 at North Leigh.

Manager Leigh Robinson hopes for a better performance tonight, as he can put his strongest available team out (having rested Ed Palmer to avoid him picking up a suspension) and his players will be motivated for this winner-takes-all clash.

He said: "The players were a bit flat mentally [in the last couple of games], knowing we were in the playoffs.

"Both Bideford and North Leigh played well against us, and we didn't get the breaks.

"Hopefully, this being a one-off game, we will have a different feeling tonight - that this one really matters."

The Peacocks could well be taking a full squad to Ladysmead, with their only doubts being Owen Irish (toe injury) and Ross Staley (virus).

Those would be big losses to the team, given Irish's aerial prowess and Staley's attacking menace (especially when played through the middle), so Taunton have their fingers crossed that they will both pass fitness tests for tonight.

The sides know each other well, this being their fourth meeting of the season.

The Peacocks are unbeaten in those matches - drawing 1-1 away and winning 2-0 at home in the league, and drawing 4-4 at home and winning 2-0 away (replay) in the FA Cup preliminary round.

There are also plenty of players with connections to both clubs.

Taunton's Craig Duff, Lloyd Irish, Ed Palmer, Josh Searle, Craig Veal, Matt Villis and Matt Wright have previously played for Tiverton; Ben Carter, Alex Faux, Steve Kingdon, Ben Mammola, Rob Norrish, Joe Perry, Jamie Price and Jamie Short of Tiverton have all turned out for Taunton.

The Peacocks are expected to bring a large and vocal travelling support to the game, something Robinson says is "really important".

"Tiverton have great support, so we need ours.

"We have performed well on the big occasions this season, so we want to give our fans something to cheer tonight."

The winner tonight - the match going all the way to penalties if required - will play either Salisbury or Evesham United in the playoff final.

You can follow the match with our dedicated live blog on somersetcountygazette.co.uk, and look out for videos and reaction on the County Gazette Sport's Facebook and Twitter.