Two teams at opposite ends of the League Two table will meet on Tuesday at Gander Green Lane as Sutton United host Hartlepool United, with both needing points for very different reasons.
The hosts picked up their first win of the season on Saturday, providing a much needed confidence boost that should help the squad heading into this fixture.
Match preview
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Sutton have found life in League Two quite difficult so far following their promotion last season, but their first victory in the Football League was exactly what the club needed.
The Us were able to defeat Stevenage as they came back from a goal down to earn the three points, with Richie Bennett's brace proving to be enough to earn a 2-1 victory as he scored twice in five minutes.
It was an unforgettable day for the club and something they have been working hard to achieve, having come close in recent games, drawing twice in their previous three fixtures.
Sutton have actually put together a strong run of form recently, with draws against Salford City and Scunthorpe United, as well as a victory against Crystal Palace's Under-21s in the EFL Trophy helping to build their momentum.
Despite the fact they currently find themselves 23rd, the Us have only been defeated twice in the division, and both of those were closely contested, losing by just a goal each time.
Defensively, Matt Gray's squad have been impressive, with only four teams in League Two having conceded fewer goals than them, one of which just so happens to be Tuesday's opponents.
Sutton do have two games in hand on a lot of teams above them as well, which is something that they could use to their advantage in order to start climbing the table.
The visitors have had a solid start to the 2021-22 campaign, having won four games already this season to help them reach fourth in the league.
Jamie Sterry was able to find the back of the net on Saturday as Hartlepool secured a 1-0 victory against Bristol Rovers, which was a crucial three points for them.
The result saw them bounce back from consecutive defeats, and they will now be hoping to kick on and continue mounting pressure on those above them, especially since they have a game in hand over league leaders Forest Green Rovers.
Dave Challinor's team have struggled for goals though this season, having scored significantly fewer than the teams around them in the promotion places.
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Team News
After scoring twice in his last outing, Bennett is sure to be leading the line once again for Sutton as he looks to continue adding to his personal goal tally.
On the wing, Enzio Boldewijn could also keep his place in the starting XI for the Us after putting in some fantastic performances across his last two games.
Craig Dundas became the oldest player to make a Football League debut on Saturday after coming on from the bench, and his power and experience could once again be called upon to add a physical threat to Gray's team.
However, Sutton will likely be without full-back Joe Barden, who had to limp off against Stevenage, which will likely see Joe Kizzi take his place to complete the back four.
For Hartlepool, they will continue to be without their leading goal scorer Tyler Burey, who is out with a torn hamstring, while Gavan Holohan is also a doubt after he missed Saturday's game due to illness.
Sutton United possible starting lineup:
Bouzanis; Kizzi, Goodlife, John, Milsom; Boldewijn, Eastmond, Smith, Ajiboye; Sho-Silva, Bennett
Hartlepool United possible starting lineup:
Killip; Sterry, Byrne, Liddle, Francis-Angol, Molyneux; Shelton, Featherstone, Daly; Goodwin, Olomola
We say: Sutton United 0-1 Hartlepool United
With the momentum behind them after winning their first game in the Football League, Sutton United are going to have a lot of confidence in this game, especially with the home support in their favour too.
Because of that, this will likely be a closely fought match, and with both teams being defensively strong it will likely be a low scoring one, but Hartlepool should have enough quality to just edge it.
Top tip
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 Sutton United win with a probability of 45.01%. A win for Hartlepool United had a probability of 28.5% and a draw had a probability of 26.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sutton United win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.66%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.96%) and 2-0 (8.32%). The likeliest Hartlepool United win was 0-1 (8.81%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.56%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 11.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Sutton United in this match.
