MX23RW : Friday, November 22 06:50:22| >> :600:393149:393149:
[monks data]
Accrington Stanley
League One | Gameweek 45
Apr 29, 2023 at 3pm UK
Wham Stadium
Cambridge United

Accrington
1 - 2
Cambridge

Presley (83' pen.)
Coyle (73'), Whalley (80')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Dunk (42'), Thomas (65')
Lankester (28'), Digby (45+3')

Preview: Accrington Stanley vs. Cambridge United - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's League One clash between Accrington Stanley and Cambridge United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

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

Accrington Stanley manager John Coleman on January 24, 2023© Reuters

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.

Cambridge United manager Mark Bonner on November 15, 2022© Reuters

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.

Accrington Stanley League One form:

Cambridge United League One form:


Team News

Accrington Stanley's Tommy Leigh celebrates scoring their first goal on January 24, 2023© Reuters

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


SM words green background

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.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


ID:512434:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect13713:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Accrington vs Cambridge

Accrington Stanley
50.0%
Draw
37.5%
Cambridge United
12.5%
8
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher on February 5, 2022
Read Next:
Tuesday's League One predictions including Shrewsbury vs. Plymouth
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1.15am
Steelers
@
Browns
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Port Vale1610332416833
2Crewe AlexandraCrewe158431913628
3Doncaster RoversDoncaster168442218428
4Walsall1483327151227
5MK Dons168352719827
6Notts County167632315827
7Grimsby Town168171925-625
8AFC Wimbledon1472523131023
9Bradford CityBradford166552117423
10Gillingham157261612423
11Chesterfield165742920922
12BarrowBarrow166461715222
13Fleetwood TownFleetwood145632015521
14Salford City165651518-321
15Newport CountyNewport166281926-720
16Accrington StanleyAccrington164662226-418
17Cheltenham TownCheltenham165382125-418
18Harrogate TownHarrogate165381422-818
19Tranmere RoversTranmere144551017-717
20Bromley153751719-216
21Colchester UnitedColchester152851822-414
22Swindon TownSwindon162771825-713
23Carlisle UnitedCarlisle1633101429-1512
24Morecambe1624101427-1310


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!