Cambridge United welcome in-form York City to the Abbey Stadium aiming to build on back-to-back wins against Halifax and Forest Green. The wins lifted United into third place, and after winning four and losing only one of the last six games the U's will want to keep the pressure on Aldershot and Torquay above.
The bookies have United as 10/11 odds-on favourites to win, with York at 5/2 and the draw at 12/5, and as usual there is a wide range of other match odds. Click here for all the match odds.
Team News
Jimmy Quinn is without three regular defenders tomorrow as Dan Gleeson and Mark Peters complete two-match bans and Michael Morrison sits out the game after collecting five yellow cards, but striker Mark Beesley is eligible for selection again after being forced to miss last weekend's match against his old team.
Beesley could not play last week due to the terms of his January transfer from Forest Green, and Leo Fortune-West is ineligible to play against United for York tomorrow because of a similar clause in his loan deal.
In addition to the three suspended players, Danny Brown (ankle), Darren Quinton (knee) and Dan Chillingworth (ankle) are still sidelined by their respective injuries and Quinn's biggest decision tomorrow concerns who will play at right-back or right wingback.
With Gleeson missing last week the U's boss opted to play Michael Morrison on the right of a back four but with Morrison also now suspended he is left to decide between reverting to the usual wingback system and playing a midfielder on the right, or staying with a back four and shuffling players around to fill the right back role.
Either system is a possibility, with Rob Wolleaston possibly under consideration to fill in at wing back, or a flat back four could see Stephen Reed drop into the left back role he has filled for most of his career, with Wayne Hatswell, Mark Albrighton and Josh Coulson all moving one place to the right.
Quinn is the man who will ultimately decide and he was understandably keeping his cards close to his chest: "We have a plan and it maybe a case of asking somebody who's not used to playing in that position to play there and do a job for us, but it's an opportunity for somebody to play in the first team and be a part of what is a successful team.
"We'll look at it in training and see who's suited to it best.
"We're suffering with a few suspensions this week but we've got Mark Beesley back and we've got enough characters in the squad to get result even when we're missing some of our better players and I don't think this league is decided yet."
Whether he recalls Mark Beesley to the side depends to some extent on what formation Quinn chooses. Beesley can play up front or behind a front two and the manager confirmed that he will make a similar late decision about his attacking line-up: "It all depends on the wingback system and whether we go with a flat back four so we'll work on that and decide nearer to the game."
The Opposition
York City are currently eleventh on 46 points, fifteen behind United after a dreadful start to the season, but a run of seventeen games without defeat from November to the middle of February lifted them to their current mid-table position and they will be seeking revenge for their opening day defeat when Gavin Hoyte and Lee Boylan scored debut goals for United in a 2-1 defeat.
"Confidence is everything in football and when you're on an unbeaten run it builds within the squad. Even though we beat York on the first day you could see the way they play and they have some very good players. They've got players who can score goals and some very good defence players as well, and probably one of the best midfielders in our league in Emmanuel Panther
"So they're a good side and a big team in our league, and it's taken them a little bit of time to catch up but they're now in striking distance of the play-offs and I'm sure Colin Walker will be telling his lads that if they want to do well they need to be coming to places like Cambridge and getting results.
"So we know it will be a tough game but we're at home and, as you saw last weekend, we're more than a match for anybody in this league. It's about building the confidence that we've got in the last few weeks and taking it into this game.
"We've got a lot of tough games coming up but I think if we win ten of our last 14 games we have a chance of winning the league."
More Information
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