Cambridge United entertain Weymouth at the Abbey Stadium this afternoon, looking to bounce back from Tuesday's below-par defeat at Crawley and return to winning ways at home.

The bookies have United odds on at 4/9 to win, with Weymouth at 13/2 and the draw is 11/4, and as usual there is a wide range of other match odds offering great value. Click here for all the match odds.

Team News

With injuries biting deep and loanee Magno Vieira not permitted to play against his parent club, Jimmy Quinn was forced into naming five teenagers on the bench at Crawley. Three of them did so well when they came on that West Ham loanee Jack Jeffery may have earned a first start up front today, while three of the injured players have resumed training this week and Vieira is available for selection again so Quinn has a bigger squad to select from.

Jeffery's loan was yesterday extended by another month and Quinn has hinted that he may hand the 18-year-old a start after his performance on Tuesday night [article], while Jordan Collins and Robbie Willmott also did their causes no harm on Tuesday.

The squad was also boosted by the news that Danny Brown, Wayne Hatswell and Stephen Reed all returned to training this week after treatment on their respective ankle injuries [article], while the pacy Vieira offers options up front and on the wings depending on the system Quinn decides to employ.

One man who can be certain of his place in the starting line-up at present is Lee Boylan, whose equalising goal on Tuesday was his seventh in the last five games, and Quinn commented, "It was a good goal by Lee and he's our shining light at the moment - everything he touches goes in.

"Crawley played very well on Tuesday but it was disappointing because we gave our lads all the information about how Crawley were going to play but we didn't cope with their tempo, and that's disappointing because we had experienced players out there.

"When we put the younger ones on they showed some character and frankly they showed up some of the older players, but we'll get fitter and stronger for the run-in and work hard on the training field. We need to bounce back on Saturday and the title isn't out of reach, although it will be a tall order now to match Aldershot, but we have a terrific home record to keep going."

Long-time absentees Dan Chillingworth, Darren Quinton and Michael Hyem are still ruled out through injury, while Ben Farrell is also under treatment for a recent ankle injury.

The Opposition

Weymouth are currently 20th in the table on 32 points and only above the relegation places courtesy of goal difference. They have only collected one point from their last six away games but Quinn knows the Terras will arrive at the Abbey ready to scrap for everything.

Preferring not to draw attention to the fact that the match will mark a first return to the Abbey for Alan Lewer, who left his post as Quinn's number 2 in January to take up a similar role at Weymouth, the U's boss commented, "We just need to get back on track and some some character.

"Weymouth aren't playing badly and they're fighting for their lives, so it's going to be another tough game and a decent fight, but I'm concentrating on getting a result for Cambridge United and Alan will be concentrating on Weymouth.

"All teams want to win and John Hollins will be getting his team up to fight and scrap for everything, a bit like we had to last year, and we will have to match them all over the pitch. They'll come with one up front and they'll pack the midfield and we'll need a slightly different game plan to combat that.

"We got beat up on Tuesday, which is something I don't like to see in my teams so we need to put that right and make sure we don't get beat up again. They're down at the bottom and they've conceded a lot so we'll try to capitalise on that."

Quinn also reiterated his belief that three wins would cement United's play-off place and wants those victories as soon as possible, starting today against Weymouth.

"If you'd said at the start of the season we'd be second going into the final month and a bit, I'd have taken it, but there's still a lot to be done and we need to get back to being stronger and focusing on the job in hand.

"We've won five games out of our last eight but also lost two of the last three, so we have to look at the reality of it. We're in a good position and we've got a very good home record, but we probably need to put a bit more effort in away after losing at Farsley and Crawley.

"A win would keep our home record going leading into the play-offs and there are still plenty of points to play for."

More Information

Learn lots more about Crawley in Alix Dorrington's "The Other Side" preview, and if you fancy a bet on our match or any other event this week please follow this link to visit our official betting partners bet365 - the only place where your online betting makes money for the U's.

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