IF history repeats itself, Kidderminster Harriers could find themselves relegated alongside Rushden and Diamonds due to a freak quirk of fate.

For the past two seasons, the two teams falling out of the Football League have played each other on the opening day of the season.

Shrewsbury played Exeter on day one of the 2002-03 campaign with both teams going on to suffer the drop to the Conference.

And it was a case of deja vu when last season's bottom two, Carlisle and York, were demoted having kicked off their campaigns against each other.

Harriers and Rushden, who started this season against each other last August, will both be hoping it's not a case of third time unlucky.

Cambridge, incidentally, kicked off their campaign against Wycombe, so will end the freak sequence if, as expected, they go down.

Meanwhile, as the survival scrap reaches crunch time, here's a list of the respective run-ins of Harriers and their relegation rivals over the next five Saturdays.

Relegation run-in

Harriers: Bury (h), Yeovil (h), Boston (a), Grimbsy (h), Northampton (a).

Rushden: Bristol Rovers (a), Boston (h), Darlington (a), Cambridge (h), Macclesfield (a).

Cambridge: Darlington (h), Scunthorpe (a), Rochdale (h), Rushden (a), Notts County (h).