There's plenty of high-profile footballing action to look forward to this weekend; Arsenal and Tottenham are fighting at opposite ends of the Premier League table, the Championship promotion and relegation places are nearly decided, and Hearts are battling for an historic Scottish title.
However, another match is drawing attention from football fans across the country, down in the fifth tier of the English football pyramid.
Rochdale v York in the National League will be one of the hottest tickets in the sport on Saturday, as the promotion race goes to the wire in the most dramatic of fashions.
With only one automatic promotion spot to League Two available in the fifth tier, and the sides sitting on 105 and 107 points respectively, Rochdale and York will go head-to-head in a winner takes all final day shoot-out at Spotland on Saturday.
Rarely has so much weighed on a single league match for teams at this level. It is cruel that a football club can accumulate over 100 points in a single season and miss out on promotion altogether, but due to the current promotion system in the National League, only one side will earn an automatic place in League Two next season, and it will be the victor at Spotland on Saturday.
The run-in has drawn parallels with the dramatic 2022/23 season, when Wrexham and Notts County topped the table with 111 and 107 points apiece, with only the Dragons earning an automatic spot in League Two.
County did eventually seal promotion via the play-offs in that campaign, however that isn't always a sure thing; just ask Wrexham the season prior, who finished their campaign in second place with 88 points but were knocked out in the play-offs by Grimsby, who went up despite finishing 6th with 77 points.
There have been calls across the football community to increase the number promotion places available in the National League to three to match the system in the EFL. The 3UP campaign has gathered momentum in recent months, garnering support from figures such as Talksport host Jeff Stelling.
All of that is of no help for the top two this season however, who have to focus on getting over the line in Greater Manchester this weekend.
York City are the favourites to secure the title on Saturday afternoon as they sit top of the standings and are two points clear of hosts Rochdale.
The Minstermen were a regular fixture in the EFL during the 90s and last played in the fourth tier in 2015-16, before suffering back-to-back relegations down to the National League North.
It has been a long 10 years in the National League wilderness for the York faithful, especially after finishing second last year on 96 points and losing in the playoffs.
A draw will be enough to secure their place in the fourth tier next season, however a win for the Dale would see them leapfrog York and clinch the league title - tight margins indeed on the final day.
Jim McNulty's men have enjoyed solid form at Spotland this season, winning 18 of their 22 home matches, however they host the side with the best away record in the National League, losing just twice on the road this campaign.
For so long a stalwart of the EFL, Rochdale were relegated to the National League for the first time in 2023. They lost in the playoffs last season, and may have to settle for another taste of them this campaign.
The statistics favour the visitors; they have scored the most goals in the league this season and have won their last five matches on the spin, also keeping clean sheets in four of those games.
The Minstermen have also won the last four meetings between the sides, with the Dale's last win coming back in 2023. Indeed, Rochdale have recorded just one solitary win over York in their last 11 matches.
However, as they say, football is a funny old game. Form and statistics will likely go out of the window due to the pressure and significance of the clash at Spotland on Saturday.
Despite the controversy of the situation both sides find themselves in, there is something uniquely enticing about the early kick-off title-deciding clash. So often in modern league football, titles are wrapped up weeks in advance, and relegation is all-but confirmed ahead of the final day.
With so much on the line for both clubs, the atmosphere will be at fever pitch, the stakes are incredibly high and anything but automatic promotion for either side will be a hammer blow.
Teams promoted from the National League increasingly compete strongly in League Two the following year. Cast an eye towards the likes of Wrexham, Lincoln and Bromley in recent seasons to see that promotion this season could richly reward the victors, and offer the potential of sustained success in the near future.
Defeat, or in Rochdale's case, anything but victory, will consign the losers to a gruelling playoff battle; potentially another victim of the National League's ruthless and unforgiving promotion system.
Rochdale and York have plundered a combined 212 points between them this season, but 90 minutes will define the campaign of both sides on Saturday, promotion and euphoria or the playoffs, and potential misery.
Don't watch the Premier League on Saturday, or the Championship. All eyes will be on Spotland in Rochdale at 12:30, for one of the biggest games in the history of the National League.
Don't miss it.
Check out our latest live odds for Rochdale v York on site.
