Cambridge United visit Histon on Sunday (2pm), looking to bounce back from two successive defeats. The losses to Luton and Grays followed an eight-game unbeaten run and Martin Ling will be looking for a vastly improved performance to the one at Grays on Tuesday.
United have now dropped down to 13th place, having taken 20 points from the first fourteen games, while Histon have overcome a disappointing start to win three of their last four games and are 15th with seventeen points from their fourteen games.
The bookies rate the U's at 8/5 with our online betting partners bet365, while Histon are favourites at 6/4 and the draw is 9/4. Click here for all the match odds.
Team News
After several games with a full squad to select from, Martin Ling must decide whether to shuffle his pack again and make changes to the side that unperformed in defeat at Grays on Tuesday.
He has looked for a response in training and will make his decision on team selection after a training session on Saturday.
"You talk about a defeat and make sure you all understand what went wrong, and then on the training ground you work to put it right and you also work on the positives, and that's what we'll be taking into Sunday's game," he said.
"You can't dwell on a defeat, you have to get it out of your system and move on to the next game."
Having been well briefed since day one about the rivalry between the sides, and the expectations of the supporters, Ling wants the game to provide a springboard back to the form of the games before last Saturday's defeat at home to Luton.
"There will be a good atmosphere at Histon and it will be a good game to go into, and we need to put a stop to the last couple of results," he warned.
"Before those two games, everyone was talking about how good things were. We've still got the same group of players and the same manager so there isn't a lot wrong in there, but we've got to get the results in the matches.
"I always say if you've got eight or nine players performing well on the day then they can carry the others, but if it's the other way round, like it was on Tuesday, then you've got a problem. So we've got to make sure we're on form and playing to our potential on Sunday."
Understandably, Ling was giving nothing away about his team selection, preferring to make a final decision after the last training session: "The team will be picked after training on Saturday. I'll look at the way people have trained and how they've reacted to the two defeats, and I'll pick the team that I think will be most capable of beating Histon on Sunday."
The Other Side
Steve Fallon will be without Lanre Oyebanjo (knee) whilst Craig Hammond, Bradley Hudson-Odoi and Neil Andrews are rated as doubtful.
Histon started the season at a stumble as they adapted to the summer departures of regulars Patrick Ada, Matt Mitchell-King, Antonio Murray and top scorer Jack Midson, while assistant manager John Beck has been absent for several weeks after being sent on 'gardening leave', but they go into the match with three wins in their last four games and will fancy their chances of making that four wins from five.
Ling is well aware of the likely atmosphere and the expectations surrounding the match and he is looking for a disciplined performance and a return to the form in the eight games prior to last weekend.
"Most games in this league are tight and decided by the odd goal or two and I think this will be the same. The team that keeps their wits about them will be the one that wins, and we need to perform at the level we were before the second half against Luton to make sure we win the game," said the U's boss.
"You've also got to make sure you keep your head in these sort of games because it's going to be lively, it's going to be frantic, and the team that keep their head are usually the team that win the game. We've got to make sure we keep our heads and stick to the gameplan that we've set out."
More information
You can read more about the Stutes in Matt Gooding's 'The Other Side' preview, and if you fancy a bet on our match or any other event this week follow this link to visit our official betting partners bet365 - where your online betting makes money for the U's.
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