This Saturday at the Cledara Abbey Stadium, struggling Cambridge United will take on the high-flying Charlton Athletic in a game that could shake up both the promotion race and relegation battle in League One.
Cambridge will aim to keep their unbeaten streak alive for a fifth straight match, while Charlton are chasing their third win in four games.
Match preview
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Neil Harris’s Cambridge might be seen as relegation candidates this season, but they’ve managed to avoid defeat since mid-March and won’t give up their spot in League One easily.
In their last outing, Southampton loanee Dominic Ballard scored the winner in the 75th minute to secure a narrow 1-0 victory over bottom-side Shrewsbury Town, ending a run of seven games without a win.
This win took them up to 35 points, but they’re still stuck in 23rd place-seven points behind Bristol Rovers who sit 20th, and four behind Burton Albion who have played fewer games than most of those fighting relegation.
Though Cambridge come into this game as clear underdogs, they might find some hope knowing they’ve lost only twice at home in their last five matches. Still, with just one home win since January, even grabbing a point against one of the promotion contenders would feel like an achievement.
A victory on Saturday would be huge-it’d be their first back-to-back league wins since October and could bring them within four points of safety with just four matches left if everything goes right.
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Nathan Jones’s Charlton come into this one flying high after winning seven, drawing two and losing just once in their last ten outings-they’ll be looking to add another positive result here.
Their most recent game saw goals from Macaulay Gillesphey and Greg Docherty earn them a 2-2 draw against Lincoln City on April 5th.
That draw extended Charlton’s unbeaten streak at The Valley to thirteen games. Still, Jones probably wished for all three points against a mid-table team since his side is sitting fifth now-just one point shy of fourth-place Stockport County.
That said, they’ve got a decent gap ahead of sixth-placed Reading by five points and seven ahead of seventh-place Bolton Wanderers. With only five matches remaining, keeping that distance from playoff rivals is crucial for them.
A win would push Charlton back into fourth place. Having taken three wins out of their last five away trips, they’ll hope to create a ten-point buffer between themselves and teams outside the playoffs this weekend.
Cambridge United League One form:
Charlton Athletic League One form:
Team News
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The Cambridge squad will be led by captain Michael Morrison. He’s expected to line up alongside James Gibbons and Kelland Watts in Harris’s back three this weekend.
Up front, Ryan Loft and Dominic Ballard will lead the attack supported out wide by wing-backs Liam Bennett and James Brophy. Josh Stokes should play just behind them as an attacking midfielder.
On Charlton’s side, last week’s scorers Macaulay Gillesphey and Greg Docherty are likely starters again-Gillesphey partnering Tom Mc Intyre at centre-back while Docherty sits deep next to Conor Coventry in midfield.
The forward line features Matt Godden flanked by Karoy Anderson and Thierry Small with Luke Berry playing just behind them.
Cambridge United possible starting lineup: Stevens; Gibbons, Morrison, Watts; Stevenson; Bennett, Digby, Stokes, Brophy; Loft, Ballard
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup: Mannion; Ramsay, Mc Intyre, Gillesphey, Edwards; Coventry, Docherty; Small, Berry, Anderson; Godden
We say: Cambridge United 1-2 Charlton Athletic
Cambridge have been tough opponents lately so don’t expect them to roll over despite where both teams sit on the table.
Still though-with Charlton losing just once on their last five road games and generally looking sharp-you’d have to fancy them picking up all three points on Saturday here.
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