Back in the summer, those in the know were tipping a starlet called Stanley to make the big time before long.

The youngster in question was Cirencester striker Nick Stanley, but while his star has temporarily stalled, another member of the family's Cheney Manor household has been thrust into the footballing limelight and will rub shoulders with the game's aristocracy on Sunday.

Nick's older brother Alex, pictured, is plying his trade with Ryman League leaders Yeading, who face Newcastle United in the third round of the FA Cup live on Match of the Day.

Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert will miss the fixture through injury, but the left-sided defender will still get the chance to pit his wits against a host of internationals.

Said Stanley: "I would have loved to have marked Shearer or Kluivert but that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

"But Newcastle have so many great players. I'm probably going to be marking Kieron Dyer or Shola Ameobi and it will be a tremendous test."

Yeading are the 'home' team, but the fixture has been switched to neighbouring Loftus Road home of Queens Park Rangers for safety reasons.

It will be a far cry from their usual league encounters in front of a couple of hundred fans.

"The town is buzzing," he said. "We've had so many people come up to training to wish us luck.

"Our average gate is about 250 but we're expecting a few more on Sunday."

One thing he isn't expecting is one of the biggest cup upsets of all time.

Non-League Hereford famously dumped the Toon out of the competition in 1972.

Yeading are 16-1 to repeat the feat over 90 minutes but Stanley won't be parting with the money he earns through plastering and playing semi-pro football.

"In the build up, a lot of the supporters have been talking about Hereford. It would be a tremendous achievement if we could do what they did.

"But we're not expecting to win the game," added Stanley, who spent six years at Southampton as a schoolboy and three at Reading before venturing into the lower leagues.

"If we were playing them at our place it might be different because we could really get stuck into them, but playing at Loftus Road is as much of an away game for us as it is for them.

"But, like everyone says, it is the FA Cup and we've seen so many times before that small clubs can beat big ones."

READ Alex Stanley's FA Cup diary in next week's Advertiser.