WINCHESTER City and AFC Totton will seek to bounce back from Boxing Day blows in Monday’s (3pm) big Evo-Stik South West derby at the Simplyhealth City Ground.

Winchester’s hopes of a fifth straight league and cup win came a cropper 3-0 at Wimborne Town just hours after Totton had lost their lunchtime kick-off 3-1 against promotion tips Salisbury, ending a sequence of eight league games unbeaten for the Stags.

But with the two sides placed seventh and sixth respectively, locked together on 36 points, there is still much to play for in the New Year with at least two automatic promotion places up for grabs - plus one for the winners of the play-offs.

Winchester boss Craig Davis, whose side fell to three second-half goals at third-placed Wimborne, said: “It’s good that local teams are going well. Like I said to (Wimborne boss) Matty Holmes, hopefully we’ll meet them in the play-offs.

“It just wasn’t our day on Tuesday. We created some good chances, but the first goal was all-important and they got a scrappy one from a corner just after half-time.

“The pitch was a leveller for pace and our fast players were falling over all the time. But fair play to Wimborne, they looked a good side.

"They’ve been together a while too, so their development is a couple of years down the line, and when you think what our players have done this season, they have rarely let us down.

“It’s the first time since early September we haven’t scored in a game and we’ll have a go against Totton as we normally do. We never sit back.

“We need to bounce back on Monday and so do they and there’s a bit of added spice being a local derby.

“But it’s not like some of the derbies I've been involved in where there’s almost hatred between the sides.

“I’m very respectful of Totton as a club and what (manager) Louis Langdown is doing there.”

Although losing to second-placed Salisbury was a festive downer for Totton, Langdown is not dwelling on it.

"It's a learning curve," he said. "We'd gone two months without losing and we've been beaten by a team with the most money in the league, the biggest resources and the biggest expectation.

“Let's face it, Salisbury should be winning the league - I’d be more disappointed if we’d lost to a side lower down.

“We’re sixth with a couple of games in hand on some, so if we can get back to winning ways on Monday, then happy days! I'm not going to take away from what these players have done."

Both squads should be unchanged with Winchester left-back Danny King (ankle) still sidelined and Totton striker Tony Lee (ankle) in limbo after finishing his loan spell from Poole.

Saints, Eastleigh, Bournemouth, Portsmouth and Reading season-ticket holders can watch the New Year's Day showdown for just £5 and it's free for under-16s.