The Pilgrims hit the road to face Evo-Stik Division One South club AFC Stamford, kick-off 7.45pm.

And the added knockout significance to the pre-season encounter fits the bill nicely, according to Pilgrims’ boss Jason Lee.

He said: “It’s good to have something extra hanging on the result of the match. It provides us with a bit of competitive action. Hopefully the players will respond accordingly.

“In my time at the club we have always taken this competition’s pre-season ties seriously. It’s only when the final comes round later in the year that it poses a problem or two. But we will be looking to win through again tonight.

“And the nature of the match should serve us well given the fact that after it, we have three fixtures against clubs from higher up the ladder when we will need to learn how to compete in matches where we probably don’t have the majority of possession.”

United go into the clash at Stamford with Lee confirming one or two players were having treatment for knocks and niggles — one of them being Spencer Weir-Daley.

The Pilgrims will be looking to avert a third loss against Stamford in the past five years, having been beaten in the competition’s final by the Daniels in 2008-2009 and 2010-2011.

Follow the action on Twitter via the @bostonunited feed.