Two sides fighting to climb out of the bottom four in the League One table at the back end of the season will do battle in a crucial contest on Saturday, as Accrington Stanley welcome Cambridge United to the Wham Stadium.
The hosts kept their survival hopes alive with a midweek win away at Bolton Wanderers but remain two points adrift of safety with two matches to play, while their visitors are a point worse off with a game in hand.
Match preview
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Accrington Stanley have found themselves continuously fighting at the bottom end of the League One table throughout the season, but after crucial home victories over Shrewsbury Town and Forest Green Rovers either side of a draw with Burton Albion, they looked in a good position to avoid relegation 34 points on the board from 32 outings.
John Coleman's side were unable to strengthen that position further, though, picking up just a single point from the following six league games, as they conceded 14 goals and only scored once across five defeats, before making a vital return to winning ways in a 3-0 beating of Port Vale in early April.
Again, the 'Owd Reds did not manage to build on that result though and suffered four more defeats on the bounce in the aftermath of that three-point haul, firstly being on the wrong end of 3-0 and 5-2 beatings at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday and Fleetwood Town, before losing narrowly to Peterborough United and most recently Portsmouth last weekend, with Joe Pigott hitting the only goal of the game on the south coast.
That losing run left Coleman's men 23rd in League One with a five-point gap to safety before their game in hand on Tuesday, when they travelled to playoff-chasing Bolton Wanderers and pulled off a much-needed and somewhat surprise 1-0 victory, as Ethan Hamilton hit the decisive goal on the stroke of half time.
Such a result saw Accrington Stanley's men leapfrog Saturday's opponents and move up to 22nd spot in England's third tier, and now sitting two points adrift of safety with two league games left to play, they know that they must put another victory on the board at the weekend in their bid to defy the odds at the back end of the campaign and maintain their place in League One.
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Their visitors are also fighting for three crucial points on Saturday in their own bid to jump out of the bottom four, having now dropped to 23rd spot following back-to-back defeats.
Mark Bonner's side have also been embroiled in the fight for survival throughout the term, and after enduring a six-match winless run across February and March, which produced just a single point, they would quickly improve their chances of moving out of the bottom four with an upturn in form at the beginning of April.
After returning to winning ways away at Port Vale, the U's made it two triumphs on the bounce with a 2-1 beating of Fleetwood Town and went on to earn another commendable point from a 1-1 draw away at Bolton Wanderers thanks to Sam Smith's 95th-minute equaliser.
Bonner's men would then move even closer to safety with a third win of the four-match span, beating playoff hopefuls Peterborough United 2-0 courtesy of goals from Harrison Dunk and Smith, but would then see their run come to an end in a 2-1 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers, before most recently being beaten 3-1 away at leaders Plymouth Argyle last weekend, despite Smith drawing them level in the first half.
Having at least kept themselves in contention with a run of results earlier this month, Cambridge United now find themselves three points adrift of safety, and with the benefit of being the only team left in the fight for survival with three matches left to play, they will hope to gain ground at the weekend before playing their game in hand away at Burton Albion on Wednesday.
Team News
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Accrington Stanley may look to come into the weekend with an unchanged starting XI from their impressive result away at Bolton, although midfielder Liam Coyle will return to contention after serving a three-match suspension and will hope to retake a place in the engine room.
Coleman should certainly field an unaltered back three of Doug Tharme, Michael Nottingham and Harvey Rodgers after the clean sheet in that win, while Ethan Hamilton, Seamus Conneely and Dan Martin are among those fighting for starting spots in the engine room, with key man Tommy Leigh sidelined by an injury.
Leigh leads their scoring charts, and in his absence, forwards Aaron Pressley and Matt Lowe will hope to step up, while Sean McConville will offer further attacking support from a wing-back role having contributed five goals and four assists in League One so far this season.
Sam Smith will lead the Cambridge United attack with plenty of confidence, having found the net in each of their last six League One outings to take his tally to 12 for the season.
He was joined by Harvey Knibbs and James Brophy in a front three last weekend, although Joe Ironside is vying to come in from the outset, having only managed six goals in England's third tier so far this term after netting 12 in each of the last two campaigns.
Paul Digby is a mainstay in midfield and will continue to play a crucial role, likely alongside Conor McGrandles, while Michael Morrison, Ryan Bennett and Jubril Okedina should again line up in a back three.
Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Tharme, Nottingham, Rodgers; Clark, Coyle, Conneely, Hamilton, McConville; Pressley, Lowe
Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Okedina, R Bennett, Morrison; L Bennett, Digby, McGrandles, Seddon; Knibbs; Ironside, Smith
We say: Accrington Stanley 1-1 Cambridge United
We anticipate a hotly-contested affair on Saturday, given the magnitude of the fight for survival, and although both will feel a victory is necessary, they will also be desperate to avoid a defeat, and we see them sharing the spoils as a result.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
