AFC Fylde vs AFC Telford - Match preview

The relegation-battling Bucks head to the promotion-chasing Coasters looking to respond from two defeats on the spin, including Saturday's 2-1 reverse at Brackley.

Visitors Telford will be at least one man down in the north west this evening as midfield regular Nolan, who joined the Bucks on loan from Fylde in January, is ineligible to face his parent club.

Boss Paul Carden revealed there was a 'gentleman's agreement' within the loan deal that the defensive midfielder would not play against the Coasters.

That has opened the door for former Wrexham youngster Evans, who was brought in last Thursday from National League North rivals Alfreton, to make his Bucks bow.

Welshman Evans remained an unused substitute at Brackley on Saturday but was one of Carden's primary targets since the manager's appointment in November. The Telford boss tried to bring the 26-year-old to the club on several occasions.

And he is expected to play a key role in the remaining 10 league matches of the campaign as 20th-placed Telford aim to stave off relegation. They are third-bottom but have played more matches than rivals Guiseley and Farsley, both of whom Telford visit in the space of five days next week.

Carden sprung a surprise last time out by shifting winger Brendon Daniels into a central midfield role, allowing newer recruits Byron Moore and Devarn Green – who netted on his debut – to play out wide.

The man Evans could replace tonight, former Northern Ireland under-21 international Nolan, has impressed boss Carden and supporters since he checked in at the New Bucks Head for the remainder of the season.

He has featured 12 times for Telford and netted the winner with a fine header in the crucial 2-1 success against Curzon Ashton.

The re-arranged clash at Mill Farm sees Carden's troops face a Fylde side under the new management of James Rowe, the former Chesterfield and Gloucester boss who lost his job at the National League high-flying Spireites last month following a suspension.

Rowe's men got off to the best possible start over the weekend, where they secured an impressive 1-0 win at faltering Kidderminster through star man Nick Haughton's early goal to move level on points with the third-placed Harriers.

Midfield star Haughton is by some way Fylde's leading goalscorer with 20 league goals, including seven in his last nine games.