Peterborough United will welcome fourth-tier Cheltenham Town to the Weston Homes Stadium for an EFL Trophy quarter-final tie.
The hosts have reached the final eight in the defence of their title by beating Walsall at home in the previous round, while their visitors got past Colchester United in mid-January.
Match preview
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Peterborough United return to EFL Trophy action on Wednesday aiming to move within two games of retaining the trophy they lifted at Wembley last season, having beaten Wycombe Wanderers to win the title for the second time last April.
The Posh began their title defence with a perfect group-stage record in the Southern section, winning each of their three games before advancing to the final 16 by beating fellow third-tier outfit Northampton Town 3-0 at home in December.
Fourth-tier leaders Walsall then visited the Weston Homes Stadium, and Darren Ferguson's side again advanced in dominant fashion, eventually winning 4-2 as Josh Gordon netted a late consolation for the visitors after Gustav Lindgren and Malik Mothersille hit braces for the Posh.
While they have again navigated their way to the EFL Trophy quarter-finals, Ferguson's men find themselves in the midst of a dismal run in League One, currently sitting 19th having picked up just one win and six points from their last 10 third-tier games since mid-December.
With the most recent of those outings ending in a 3-1 away defeat at Bristol Rovers on Sunday, with Ricky-Jade Jones's 91st-minute goal nothing more than a consolation, Peterborough United will be desperate to bounce back in order to book a semi-final spot and inspire an upturn in league form.
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They face a tricky test in Cambridgeshire, though, as the visitors arrive in the midst of a much-improved run of League Two form, having also advanced through three stages to reach this point.
Cheltenham Town also enjoyed a dominant start to their 2024-25 EFL Trophy campaign, topping their group in the Southern section by winning each of their three matches.
A meeting with third-tier strugglers Cambridge United followed, and the Robins came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Matt Taylor and Arkell Jude-Boyd, before George Miller wrapped up another victory by the same scoreline with an injury-time winner against Colchester United after Tom Pett had them ahead early on in the round of 16.
Michael Flynn's side now return to cup action having managed to climb into the top half of the League Two table with a three-match unbeaten streak, firstly beating Salford City and drawing with Accrington Stanley before Jude-Boyd netted the only goal in injury time at home to playoff-chasing Chesterfield on Saturday.
Sitting just one point outside of League Two's top 10 as a result of that improved run, and finding themselves within two games of a trip to Wembley, Cheltenham Town travel to the Weston Homes Stadium aiming to dump out the defending champions and progress to the semi-finals.
Team News
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Darren Ferguson may opt to make several changes to his Peterborough United starting XI from their latest defeat on Sunday, although goalkeeper Jed Steer, defender Rio Adebisi and key attacker Kwame Poku remain sidelined by injuries.
Malik Mothersille should return to the attack from the outset, while Ryan De Havilland and Hector Kyprianou will hope to start in midfield after Mahamadou Susoho and Archie Collins were deployed against Bristol Rovers.
Cian Hayes will also compete for a spot on the wing, while George Nevett and Sam Hughes will hope to continue at the heart of a back four despite competition from Oscar Wallin.
Cheltenham Town, on the other hand, should field a similar starting XI from their victory at the weekend with a semi-final spot on the line, albeit with an enforced change at the back as Scot Bennett was forced off in the first 20 minutes against Chesterfield.
In his expected absence, Val Adedokun should join Sam Stubbs in the middle of the back four, while Arkell Jude-Boyd is a threat from the right-hand side of that defence having contributed four goals in 21 appearances across League Two and EFL Trophy action this term.
Brentford loanee Ashley Hay led the line on Saturday, but Matt Taylor and George Miller will both fight to come in from the start, with the latter leading the current squad on seven goals for the season following midfielder Joel Colwill's return to parent club Cardiff City.
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Bilokapic; Johnston, Hughes, Nevett, Edun; Kyprianou, De Havilland; Odoh, Conn-Clarke, Hayes; Mothersille
Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Day; Jude-Boyd, Stubbs, Adedoku, Bradbury; Kinsella, Young; Thomas, Backwell, Archer; Miller
We say: Peterborough United 2-1 Cheltenham Town
While the visitors certainly head into the cup tie with more momentum than their hosts and will be confident of pulling off an upset, we still see Peterborough United's superior quality shining through in a tight game and back the defending champions to progress to the semi-final.
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Sam Varley
