Sparks are expected to fly when Devonshire Cougars and Devonshire Colts square off in an intriguing Premier Division derby at Devonshire Rec tonight (8pm).

Very little separated the teams in the first meeting between them this season during the group stage of the Dudley Eve Trophy at the same venue on September 2, which saw Cougars edge Colts 2-1.

Cougars coach Kwame Steede and opposite number Ray Jones are now bracing themselves for what they anticipate will be yet another closely fought encounter with parish bragging rights once again at stake.

“Colts are in a semi-final (Dudley Eve Trophy) and are coming off a big win on the same field (against Hamilton Parish) that we are playing them on and we are coming off a hard draw (against St George’s Colts) so expect a game for the fans,” Steede told The Royal Gazette.

“Any derby is always a special occasion and you have to come to play and fight for every ball. These are not regular games and it’s always good to have derbies and a good thing for the Devonshire community.”

Jones added: “It's going be a big test for us playing our first league derby in years and most of the boys have not experienced derby day under the lights out on the Rec.”

Colts are heading into the contest high on confidence having thrashed previously unbeaten Parish 4-1 in their league season opener at the same venue last Monday.

“Monday was great but it's the past we must be focused on one game at a time,” Jones said. “Also it's a quick turnaround from Monday so we will assess the team in training to set up our game plan for Friday night.

“At this level we have to strive for consistency as there is no weak opponent at this level, so we will prepare as normal and hope we can execute our game plan.”

Meanwhile, Premier Division action continues tomorrow with Parish hosting Paget Lions at Wellington Oval (3pm). Both teams are coming off losses as Paget went down 4-2 against champions PHC Zebras in their league season opener last weekend.

Sunday’s remaining top flight match ups will see Young Men’s Social take on St George’s Colts at Police Field, Dandy Town doing battle with North Village in a city derby at Goose Gosling Field while PHC are at home to Wolves at PHC Field.

Social Club are fresh off an inspiring 3-1 come-from-behind win over Village, Town thumped Wolves 4-1 while St George’s drew 1-1 with Cougars in their league season openers.

First Division kicks off with a double header at Goose Gosling Field tomorrow night with Boulevard taking on Robin Hood at 7pm to be followed by the clash between hosts BAA and Vasco at 9pm. St David’s Warriors will host Southampton Rangers at Lord’s in the remaining second tier fixture on Sunday.

The match between Somerset Eagles and X-Roads Warriors originally scheduled for tomorrow will now take place at a date yet to be confirmed while Somerset Trojans have received a bye this round.