Cambridge United will look to return from the international break in style on Saturday, when they play host to Ipswich Town in League One action.
The newly-promoted side have not played since their draw with Crewe Alexandra at the beginning of October, while their visitors returned to winning ways on Saturday as they defeated Shrewsbury Town in one of the few League One games to go ahead at the weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Following their promotion from the fourth tier last season, Cambridge United had a relatively impressive start to the new campaign, collecting 11 points from their first seven games.
Mark Bonner's side now come back to action having collected just two points from their last three outings though, as a draw with Fleetwood Town was followed by a disappointing defeat to Gillingham.
Vadaine Oliver and Danny Lloyd netted goals either side of the interval to condemn The U's to their third league defeat of the season, before they met strugglers Crewe Alexandra heading into the recent break.
Bonner's men looked set to fall to another defeat as they trailed 2-0 with 15 minutes to go, but a Will Jaaskelainen own goal kept their hopes alive before Adam May snatched a point in dramatic fashion with a 94th-minute equaliser.
They now return to action with the hopes of continuing their commendable start to life in the third tier, as they sit in 16th spot, level on points with their visitors having played one game fewer so far.
Ipswich, on the other hand, will hope to kickstart a climb up the table after an underwhelming start to the season by their own standards.
After taking charge of the club in the latter stages of last season, Paul Cook oversaw a major turnover in players at Portman Road over the summer, as the side geared up for a promotion push, but they began in noticeably disappointing fashion, picking up just three points from the opening six games.
The Suffolk outfit appear to be finding their feet now though, having arrested that initial slump with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Lincoln CIty, a commendable draw with Sheffield Wednesday and a 6-0 thrashing of Doncaster Rovers.
While they were then defeated by Accrington Stanley, Cook's men bounced back with a cup win over Gillingham before returning to winning ways in the league with a 2-1 victory over Shrewsbury last Saturday, with Conor Chaplin and Macauley Bonne getting on the scoresheet either side of a Shaun Whalley equaliser.
With six points already standing between themselves and the top six, The Tractor Boys will be desperate to put a winning run together to begin a climb, with the chance to make it two straight league victories on Saturday.
- W
- L
- W
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
After joining from Ipswich Town in the summer, Cambridge winger Jack Lankester is expected to miss out on the clash with his former club at the weekend through injury.
Former Norwich star Wes Hoolahan should be fit to return to action though, and he could face a hostile reception from his old club's rivals.
The Irishman will likely support forward Joe Ironside, who has hit five goals in 10 League One appearances after starring in their promotion-winning campaign last season.
Paul Cook has an eye-catching squad at his disposal, with quality all over the pitch.
The experienced duo of Lee Evans and Sam Morsy will continue to handle business in the centre of the park, while former Barnsley man Conor Chaplin will offer threat going forward after finding the net in the victory over Shrewsbury.
The line will again be led by Queens Park Rangers loanee Macauley Bonne, who took his tally to nine goals in 10 League One games for the season with the winner in that game.
Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Williams, Jones, Masterson, Iredale; Digby, May; Brophy, Hoolahan, Tracey; Ironside
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Hladky; Donacien, Edmundson, Burgess, Penney; Evans, Morsy; Burns, Chaplin, Fraser; Bonne
We say: Cambridge United 1-2 Ipswich Town
While Cambridge have impressed since their promotion and have not been intimidated by superior sides, we can only see Ipswich's quality inspiring a winning run from here and expect them to scrape past their hosts.
The hosts boast plenty of threat going forward but have struggled to keep it tight at the back, which could be exploited by an in-form Bonne, who will look to fire his side to another important win.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Ipswich Town win with a probability of 47.72%. A draw had a probability of 26.3% and a win for Cambridge United had a probability of 25.96%.
The most likely scoreline for a Ipswich Town win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.37%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.12%) and 0-2 (9.07%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.45%), while for a Cambridge United win it was 1-0 (8.5%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.6% likelihood.
