Cambridge United welcome Ebbsfleet United to the Trade Recruitment for tomorrow's match, looking to bounce back from last weekend's disappointing 1-0 defeat at Altrincham, while the visitors arrive on the back of three wins in their last four games.
Nonetheless, United are rated as favourites at 4/5 to win the game by our online betting partners bet365, with Ebbsfleet at 3/1 and the draw at 12/5. Click here for all the match odds.
And don't forget kids go free in the South Stand for tomorrow's match! Up to four children aged 11 or under will be able to gain free entry to the all-seater South Stand with each accompanying adult, student or OAP paying at the turnstile. Click here for the details.
Team News
With the exception of Andy Parkinson, Gary Brabin has a full squad to select from as Ben Farrell returns from a two-match suspension and Courtney Pitt is in the squad for the first time following his pre-season knee operation.
Pitt was in fantastic pre-season form against the likes of Everton and Coventry City before his injury, and he has played twice for CRC in the Ridgeons League during his loan spell arranged to help him regain match fitness. He played the full 90 minutes in their home win on Saturday before his loan ended and could play some part tomorrow.
"Courtney is in contention but he needs to build up his match fitness and it's important that he steps up his training and shows me that he's ready," said Brabin.
"He was in brilliant form in pre-season before he got injured and to have him back is a big plus. It's a bit like a new signing for us and him being in the squad gives us another option."
Monday's headline news saw leading scorer Lee McEvilly leave the club on loan to Rochdale, with Gary Brabin putting his faith into the more energetic strikers like on-loan Scott Rendell, Danny Crow, Mark Beesley and Chris Holroyd.
Brabin gave a further insight into the decision to allow his leading scorer to move, when he told cambridgeunited.com, "We've got an abundance of talent after bringing Scott Rendell in on loan last week, which is something we had been looking to do for a while.
"We made our minds up that Lee wasn't going to be figuring in our plans too much in the long term and we needed something different. We base ourselves around working hard for each other, and while Lee's ability is not in question his workrate has been questioned and that's not good enough. It was a big decision to make but I'm sure it's the right one.
"Scott jumped at the chance to come back," he added. "He said he loved his time here and he was really excited about the prospect of coming back and playing for Cambridge. Other managers had enquired about him but we just asked at the right time and it's credit to the club and the supporters that he wanted to come back here."
However Brabin would not confirm that Rendell will start: "Scotty has done well since he came in and he gives us good healthy competition for places. Lee McEvilly moving on has given all the strikers a lift and they're all good players with different qualities. They're all more than capable of scoring goals, they work hard and we've got a good blend of forwards."
The Opposition
With ten points from their last four games, Ebbsfleet have climbed to 13th in the table on 27 points, seven points behind United in fifth place.
Managed by former U's players Liam Daish and Alan Kimble, and with former U's striker Michael Gash leading the line, the FA Trophy holders are in good form and Brabin spoke of them and their management team in positive terms.
"They're a good, well-organised side with some good players and they're on a good run of form at present," he said. "After tomorrow's game, when hopefully we've beaten them, we'll wish them all the best because they're a good club well-run by their management duo.
"Ebbsfleet will be looking for a win to move up the table, just like we will, and I'm expecting another tough game, but they're all tough games in this league. We're obviously looking to bounce back from last weekend, we're well-prepared, the lads have looked really sharp, and we just have to keep believing in ourselves."
Speaking about United's struggle for goals, the manager believes that McEvilly's departure will have a positive effect on the other strikers in the squad: "Scoring goals is something we work on all the time, and the lads are all confident and creating chances, and it's only a matter of time until the goals come," he said.
"By Lee going - and this is no disrespect to Lee - it's opened the door for other people and we do genuinely believe that the goals will come and a run is just around the corner. We're in the chasing pack and I'd just ask the fans to stay behind us - their support has been brilliant so far."
Further Information
You can learn much more about the Fleet in Matt Gooding's 'The Other Side' article here, 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 place where your online betting makes money for the U's.
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