JOHN FOWLER insists there is "a lot to lose" for both sides when Whyteleafe travel to Chipstead on New Year's Day.
After the sides drew 1-1 at Church Road in October, the Whyteleafe boss is anticipating another "close" derby encounter on Thursday.
"It will be close but any derby we play will be a close game," Fowler said. "There's a lot to lose for both sides going into the game. Chipstead need to win to keep pace with the teams above them and we need to win to maintain the gap over the sides below us.
"Derbies are always a bit different and sometimes if you come out of it with even a point it's a good result."
Leafe go into the game in the last play-off spot in the Ryman League Division One South after securing a 2-0 win over Tooting & Mitcham on Saturday, but Fowler believes Chipstead could prove a different encounter.
"Chipstead will be a totally different game to Tooting," he said. "We are looking forward to it and I hope we apply ourselves in the same way we did against Tooting, but with more possession.
"Chipstead are a different side to Tooting. Tooting rely a lot of their pace whereas Chipstead are a bit more like us in the way they play. They play some good football but they like a tackle as well, so it should be the typical non-league derby match."
Goals from Roscoe Dsane and Kurtis Pykes earned Leafe the win over Tooting but Fowler admits it was closer than the scoreline suggested.
"I think we did to Tooting what a lot of teams have done to us in the past," he said. "They had a lot of possession without ever really creating many clear cut chances."
"We caught them on the counterattack a couple of times and to be honest we were just more ruthless in front of goal."
