Todmorden Borough will be without skipper Danny Welsh as they bid to complete a rare hat-trick of victories in the West Lancashire League on Saturday.
Welsh serves a one-match ban for accumulated bookings when CMB visit Bellholme in Division Two.
Borough will aim to follow up last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Barrow Wanderers, which followed their eye-catching 4-1 home win over Milnthorpe Corinthians.
Borough are up to ninth in the table and boss John Gilford puts his side’s improved form down to having a more settled side.
“We are creeping back up the table and we should be with that sort of team,” said the boss.
The absence of Welsh, who swept up well behind the outstanding Dan Lively last weekend, is a disappointment.
Gilford, who is loathe to switch Harry Whitehead back to the centre of defence from midfield, will weigh up his options.
Jim Crowther could step up from the reserves with Chris Kay unlikely to be fully recovered from an ankle injury.
CMB are just above Borough in the table but have played two games fewer than Tod and also had six points deducted for fielding an ineligible player.
The teams have already drawn 2-2 in Bolton this season when Lee Earnshaw was sent off.
Gilford said: “I was not over impressed with CMB then but if they had not lost six points they would be well up there.”
Last Saturday’s win came courtesy of a fine goal from Dean Farry 10 minutes into the second half.
Farry, playing his second match back after injury, picked up the ball from Stevie Barker down the left and traded passes with Ben Whitham before slotting home nicely.
Although Wanderers are bottom, they look in better shape than earlier in the season having recruited a couple of players from other teams in the section.
With three towering players in their line-up, they adopted a route one approach but Borough are defending well and ‘keeper Lee McGrath had little to do.
Tod opened up their hosts down the left in the first half and Whitham and Marco Romero went close.
Farry’s goal, after Borough had turned to play down the slight slope, gave the visitors confidence but they were unable to add a second goal even though the hosts had a man sent off for foul and abusive language approaching the last 10 minutes.
Terry Lowe might have scored and substitute Dave Patrick was denied by a fantastic save but Todmorden were satisfied with three points from a long trip, even though it was from a dour contest.
Craig Vest was the scorer as Todmorden Reserves battled hard in a 3-1 home defeat by second-place Hurst Green Reserves. They go to Hesketh Bank Reserves on Saturday.
