Fresh off the back of contrasting results in the EFL Cup, Cambridge United and Crawley Town go head to head at Abbey Stadium in round two of League One on Saturday.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since January 2021, when the U's stormed to a 3-1 victory courtesy of goals from Joe Ironside, Kyle Knoyle and Irishman Wesley Hoolahan.
Match preview
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Cambridge United suffered a first-round exit from the EFL Cup on Tuesday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Queens Park Rangers when the two teams squared off at the Abbey Stadium.
Michael Fray and Paul Smith scored first-half goals to put Queens Park Rangers in the driver's seat, and after Paul Digby pulled one back for the hosts in the 57th minute, QPR held firm to see out the win and progress to the second round.
This was a second consecutive defeat for Cambridge United, who were beaten 2-0 by Stockport County in the league curtain-raiser on August 10, when Louie Barry and Kyle Wootton scored in either half to hand the Hatters a dream start to the season.
Following their midweek result, Garry Monk's side have now failed to win nine of their last 10 competitive home games — losing five and picking up four draws — with a 3-1 victory over Wigan Athletic on April 1 being the exception.
Cambridge have come into the new term off the back of a forgettable 2023-24 campaign as they picked up just 48 points from their 46 League One games to finish 18th in the table, four points above the relegation zone.
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On the other hand, no one associated with the club could have envisaged how Crawley Town's 2023-24 turned out as they ended their 10-year absence from League One courtesy of a stunning playoff run.
A 2-0 win over Grimsby Town in the season finale on April 27 saw Scott Lindsey's men finish seventh in the table and book their spot in the playoffs, where they stormed to an 8-1 aggregate victory over MK Dons in the semi-finals.
Danilo Orsi-Dadomo and Liam Kelly grabbed the headlines on a historic afternoon in Wembley as they both found the back of the net to fire Crawley to a 2-0 victory over Crewe Alexandra in the final on May 19 and confirm their promotion from the League Two.
The Red Devils have flown out of the blocks in the third tier as they picked up a 2-1 victory over Blackpool in the league opener on August 10, three days before thrashing Swindon Town 4-2 in the EFL Cup first round at the Broadfield Stadium.
While Crawley will look to keep the juggernaut rolling this weekend, they journey to Abbey Stadium where they have lost each of their last five visits, conceding 12 goals and scoring four since a 3-0 victory in August 2015.
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Team News
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Cambridge United will take to the pitch without the midfield duo of Gary Gardner and 30-year-old Jordan Cousins, who are currently recuperating from injuries.
Ryan Loft, who made a summer switch from Port Vale, is yet to feature for the U's due to an injury and the 26-year-old is also ruled out of Saturday's clash.
Jack Roles was involved in three of the four goals to fire Crawley Town past Swindon in midweek and the 25-year-old should retain his role at the attacking end of the pitch.
He should be joined in the front three by Panutche Camara and 26-year-old striker Adeyemo, while Cameron Bragg and Max Anderson should handle business at the centre of the park.
At the defensive end of the pitch, we expect an unchanged back three of Toby Mullarkey, Joy Mukena and Josh Flint for the third consecutive game, with 27-year-old Joseph Wollacott starting between the sticks.
Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Stevens; O'Riordan, Morrison, Rossi; Bennett, Digby, Brophy, Andrew; Kachunga, Barton, Njoku
Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Wollacott; Mullarkey, Mukena, Flint; Khaleel, Bragg, Anderson; Camara, Cameron, Roles
We say: Cambridge United 1-1 Crawley Town
Still licking their wounds from their cup exit, Cambridge United will head into the weekend looking to pick up a morale-boosting result and put their first league win on the board.
While the Red Devils have enjoyed a solid start to the season, they have lost each of their last five visits to Abbey Stadium and we see them struggling once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
