Stonebridge Road will be packed on Saturday when Ebbsfleet take on Maidstone for a place in the National League.

A capacity crowd of 3,800 will watch the winner-takes-all play-off final after the last few tickets were sold on Friday.

Fleet are looking to end a three-year stay in the division and take a step closer to the Football League under their ambitious Kuwaiti owners.

Action from the league game at Stonebridge Road which Maidstone won 1-0 Picture: Andy Payton

For the Stones, victory this weekend would clinch a third promotion in four years since they moved to the Gallagher Stadium.

After nine months and 44 games, it all comes down to this to decide who will host Tranmere and Wrexham next season and who will face trips to East Thurrock and Hampton & Richmond.

Ebbsfleet boss Daryl McMahon said: "There’s a lot riding on the game but you’ve got to take that away from the players.

"It doesn’t matter to me that it’s Maidstone. The aim was to win promotion when we came back on July 1 and now we’re one game away from it.

"You win, you get everything, you lose, you get nothing. It’s as simple as that. They’re great games. You’ve got to go into it positive and make good decisions.

"It will be a fantastic game. Both sets of fans will be noisy and it’s two good teams. It’s probably the final that everyone wanted and we’re looking forward

to it."

Ebbsfleet lost 1-0 to Dover in the 2014 play-off final but McMahon sees few parallels with that day.

He said: "It was totally different against Dover because we literally swapped squads. There was a lot of different emotion in that game from both sides.

"This will be a good game. Jay Saunders has had a great year and Maidstone are a good side.

Ebbsfleet won 2-0 at the Gallagher Stadium in August Picture: Martin Apps

"I’m looking forward to it now and the lads can’t wait.

"There’s no bad feeling, I’m sure Jay would say the same. We get on quite well, we speak regularly and he’s done a great job down there."

Most of Ebbsfleet’s squad have played in play-off finals, some winning and some losing, so will that experience be important on Saturday?

"With some players it is but you can lose two play-off finals and win the next one," McMahon said. "There’s no real reference to it.

"The team that makes the best decisions and is the coolest on the day will win."

Fleet, who finished seven points ahead of Maidstone, beat Whitehawk on penalties in the semi-finals while Stones saw off Truro 3-0 on aggregate.

McMahon said: "Nothing against Whitehawk but we finished 20 points ahead of them, so you’d like to think we’d get into the final.

"I know it doesn’t always work out like that but it is right that it’s second versus third. That’s the right final."

Kick-off on Saturday is at 3pm.