Preview: It’s derby day part two for the Tudors

The clash comes just a few days after the fierce Hertfordshire rivals shared a 1-1 draw at Clarence Park on Boxing Day, and Brennan is predicting another evenly-matched game.

“These derby games are always very tight affairs and I’m expecting much of the same,” said Brennan.

“We are going to play in a very attack-minded manner on New Year’s Day. We know they’ll come and sit in and try catch us on the break again; that suits their type of players.

“They have four top players in their team that can hurt any team in this league and we will have to be on top of our game if we are to win.

“We are hoping to have a fully fit squad to select from, and we are also trying to add another player to our squad who has been a long term target for us.”

The Tudors pounced late on at Clarence Park to earn a point courtesy of a Jordan Parkes thunderbolt, and Brennan believes that the draw was a fair result.

He said: “A draw was an even result for both teams – we didn’t play as we know we can and to be fair to the opposition they defended really well throughout the game.

“As the home side they took the game to us in the first half and maybe should have led by more than one goal at half-time.

“In the second half, St Albans sat in and tried to hit us on the break, while we dominated possession without really creating any real clear goalscoring chances.

“We needed to score a screamer from Parksey to earn a point.”

Thursday’s game kicks off at 1pm, and fans at Vauxhall Road will be segregated for this particular fixture.

St Albans supporters will be allocated the Leverstock Green Road end of the stadium, using the turnstile off Tenzing Road, while entrance via Vauxhall Road will be for home fans only.