At home to Ilkeston Town in Saturday's FA Cup first round tie, Cambridge United are looking for a third straight win and a place in the second round draw on Sunday.
The 3-1 win at Lincoln United in the previous round was followed by last weekend's 2-0 home win against Kidderminster, lifting the U's to eighth place, five points off the play-off places with the first back-to-back wins since the opening weeks of the season.
The visitors are eighth in the Blue Square North, and although it is billed as another potential 'banana skin' tie the U's are odds-on favourites at 1/2 with our online betting partners bet365, while the draw is 3/1 and Ilkeston are 6/1 to pull off an upset. Click here for all the match odds.
Team News
As reported here on Wednesday, Dan Gleeson is definitely ruled out with a thigh injury so Rory McAuley steps up for his second start of the season, having scored United's first goal in the previous round at Lincoln United.
Gleeson's injury means a planned loan move for Josh Coulson has had to be delayed, as Martin Ling explained: "Rory will come in for Dan and he's done a good job previously, but with Dan injured it means we are short of defensive cover so Josh will remain inside the building.
"A loan will have to go on the back-burner for now because although he needs to get some games under his belt I can't take the risk of him going out with the situation we're in."
There could also be another change on the wing as Andy Parkinson, who returned last week in place of the injured Courtney Pitt, is suffering with a hamstring problem and is rated '50/50' for the game. But Pitt, who missed out last week with a hamstring strain, returned to training yesterday and is expected to be fit.
With seven substitutes permitted in the FA Cup, goalkeeper Laurie Walker is likely to be added to the bench tomorrow, but Ling revealed that there are options among the outfield players should a replacement keeper be needed during a game when the young keeper is not on the bench.
"I've been asked who would have gone in goal last week if Danny Potter had been injured," he said. "We have two or three players who fancy themselves as goalkeepers and last weekend Phillo and Rory both put their hands up, and there are two or three who tell me they have done it previously.
"Sometimes you might be carrying a couple of injuries on the pitch and you need five outfield subs, so I won't always name a sub keeper in the league games, but in the cup with seven substitutes you'd be an idiot not to name one and I will include Laurie on Saturday."
Also vying for a place on the bench will be youngsters Adam Marriott and Jordan Patrick, who have impressed all season for the CRC side, and Ling agreed, "I've got a decision to make - they've both done particularly well for CRC so I'll pick the seventh sub on the day.
"I've watched the scholars and I know we have some decent players there, and the results prove we have a good youth structure and good quality players."
Finally Ling acknowledged the media speculation about leading scorer Chris Holroyd, most recently 'linked' to Norwich City and Bournemouth, but added, "He's the top scorer in the Conference so there is going to be speculation but as a manager you can't worry about that.
"If there are any bids for any of our players we will assess them on their merits at the time, but the January market is still a way off. At the moment they're all still under contract at this football club and we'll assess any bids as they arise."
The Other Side
Currently eighth in the Blue Square North, Ilkeston have been hit by injury and suspension problems ahead of tomorrow's match.
Experienced striker David Graham broke a leg during their 4-1 win at Blyth Spartans on Saturday, while fellow striker Gary Ricketts and defender Charlie O'Loughlin are both suspended. Manager Kevin Wilson has drafted in central defender Aaron Mitchell on a month's loan from Nottingham Forest to boost his squad.
But Ilkeston have already beaten BSP opposition this season, having knocked out Tamworth in the previous round, while striker Amari Morgan-Smith has netted 13 goals in 19 outings, including a hat-trick in last weekend's win, and he is one of the players Ling will have noted ahead of tomorrow's game.
"We've had them watched twice and they've done well. They're going well in their league but they've got to make changes because their lad Graham is injured, they've got a couple of lads out suspended as well and they've taken a player in on loan.
"So we know there are going to be some changes from when we've seen them, but we know enough about them and we know they'll want to be in the headlines on Saturday night, and we've got make sure that they're not."
Ling warned, "There are no easy cup draws; we're pleased that we're at home but we've got to make sure that we prepare right physically and mentally and put in a good professional performance like we did at Lincoln. They'll be looking to put one over on us and we'll have to be on our mettle and make sure we do the job right to get into the second round.
"This is a moneymaking opportunity for us so eventually we'd like to be the underdogs against a bigger club where the pressure is off you, but to do that you've got to be able to take the pressure of being the favourites to win the game and have a chance of one of the big teams.
"We're not going to win the FA Cup but it's a chance to make some money and give the fans and the players the feel-good factor, and we'll be doing our best to get into that second round."
More information
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