Cove Rangers against Peterhead is the only game in town today and Paul Hartley hopes it gets the bumper crowd it deserves.
With Scotland playing last night and no Aberdeen game this weekend, the Balmoral Stadium for the north-east derby is the main game in the Granite City.
Cove find themselves fighting amongst the sides at the top of League One, while a recent upturn in form has seen Peterhead push themselves away from the bottom end of the table.
Hartley would like to see a decent crowd through the turnstiles come kick-off time as both sides vie for local bragging rights.
He said: “We would like to see some more numbers coming through the gates and hopefully Saturday will do that.
“With no Aberdeen game we’re the only game in the city and Scotland played on Friday, so we’d hope to get more numbers.
“Hopefully they’ll come and see an entertaining game of football. We can’t force people to come and watch – they’ve got to want to come.
“We know the last few years have been difficult for everybody and some people are maybe a bit wary of coming out. Financially it’s also hit people hard.
“I think the majority of the time I’ve been here, it’s always been entertaining. There’s always been a lot of action, a lot of goals.
“For some people that have not been before, hopefully they want to make a wee trip up and see if there’s a good game of football. I’m sure there will be.”
Familiar faces will be on both sides this afternoon, with several Cove players having turned out for Peterhead and four in the Blue Toon ranks having played for the Aberdeen side.
One of those has caught the eye in recent weeks in Peterhead’s Josh Mulligan. The defender had a brief loan spell at Cove during the 2019-20 season but in his second stint at Balmoor, has emerged as an important player.
Hartley added: “He’s done really well. He was really young when he was with us a couple of years ago but he’s really improved.
“He can play in a number of positions and had a good start to the season. He’s playing a position he knows well and one that’s had a good start to his loan spell.”
This week also saw prolific Cove striker Rory McAllister named the League One player of the month for October, after scoring six of his 12 goals this season during that time.
“He’s had a really good start to the season with his goals but his overall play has been really good,” added Hartley.
“It’s a nice award for him and he’s got to keep it going. He’s finding a run of games – last season was stop-start for everyone – and he’s looking fit and strong.
“He’s working hard in training and in and out of possession. We know how good a goalscorer he is, he’s done that all his career.
“You’ve got to maintain yourself, look after your body (as you get older) to try and play as long as you can.”