1874 Northwich manager Ian Street says head-to-head with Runcorn Linnets is a 'benchmark' for his side

After five successive wins in the Premier Division, 1874 Northwich are the latest team hoping to become the first to inflict defeat on the Premier Division title favourites when they meet at Barton Stadium tonight.

Whatever happens, their manager is expecting to learn a lot.

“For us this game is a benchmark of how far we’ve come,” he said.

“Nobody will win the title at full time, but I’m hoping to have the answers to lots of questions afterwards.

“That’s how we’ll approach it – let’s see how close we are to the league’s best team.

“I’m not surprised at how well we’ve started the season, but it seems as if others are.

“That’s for them to worry about.

“We’ve put a good run together; seven wins from our first nine games is a great start. Now we’ve got an incentive to carry that on by beating a team who are rightly considered a contender to finish top of the table.”

Street told the Guardian he expects an open contest against Linnets, who are the division’s leading scorers with 34 goals from 13 matches.

After winning 11 of those, they have established a nine-point lead at the summit.

“They’re playing attacking football with lots of energy going forward,” said Street.

“I don’t expect them to do anything different against us, so we’ve got to make sure we’re ready for that.

“They have weaknesses though, just like every other team, and it’s our job to exploit those if we can.”

He hopes to have Neil Chappell available despite the midfielder limping off during Saturday’s win at West Didsbury, but nine-goal front man Matthew Beadle is a doubt with a hamstring injury.

Stuart Wellstead is ruled out with the same problem, but Ryan Mitchell is available again after serving a three-match ban.

Street added: “The supporters are excited about this game and rightly so.

“It’s great for them to have raised expectations because it means we’re doing well.”

To read a preview, click here: http://bit.ly/1C8W5mE