Cambridge United play host to Fleetwood Town on Saturday afternoon with the chance to make significant headway in moving away from the League One relegation zone.

While the home side sit four points clear of safety, Fleetwood - who are under another new head coach - are eight points from moving outside of the bottom four.

Match preview

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Things have been hit and miss for Cambridge of late, as a four-match undefeated streak that included three wins was followed by back-to-back losses.

That set up a trip to out-of-form Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup with Cambridge looking to make amends, seeing an opportunity to cause a surprise.

Neil Harris's side led on two occasions at Ewood Park, but they were eventually over-ran by their Championship hosts who prevailed by a 5-2 scoreline.

Although positives can be taken from their overall performance, Harris knows that he has a job on his hands to steady the ship as they bid to remain in the third tier.

Cambridge's form at the Abbey Stadium has been their strong point in 2023-24, with a total of 21 points coming from 13 matches on home territory.

Meanwhile, Fleetwood have recently taken the decision to appoint Charlie Adam as their new manager after Lee Johnson's efforts failed to work out.

The Scot has been at the helm for 3-1 defeats at the hands of Shrewsbury Town and Derby County, extending Fleetwood's winless streak to nine matches.

Now nearly three wins away from safety, Adam knows that his side need to respond in a positive manner against opponents who posted a 2-0 win in the reverse fixture back in August.

Fleetwood's away record is respectable in the grand scheme of things, though, with their return of 10 points from 12 games the 16th-best return in the division.

Team News

Harris could make the decision to restore Michael Morrison to the Cambridge backline in place of Ryan Bennett.

Sullay Kaikai should retain his spot in the team, while Elias Kachunga is pushing for a return from injury, but George Thomas may again miss out.

Aside from bringing Junior Quitirna back into the first team on the flank, Adam may show faith in the Fleetwood side that started versus Derby.

Ronan Coughlan is regarded as a potentially-important signing from Waterford, but the forward is expected to be selected among the replacements.

Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Stevens; L. Bennett, Okedina, Morrison, Andrew; Digby, Cousins; Lankester, May, Brophy; Kaikai

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:
Lynch; Sarpong-Wiredu, Heneghan, Earl; Rooney, Lawal, Dolan, Patterson; Vela, Stockley, Quintirna

We say: Cambridge United 2-1 Fleetwood Town

With just a nine-point gap between the sides, this is a crucial game for both sides, and nerves may be on show. However, we cannot ignore that Cambridge's home advantage could prove key, leading us to predict a hard-earned triumph.


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