Sutton United will look to pick up their first victory of the season on Saturday as they travel to the Colchester Community Stadium to face Colchester United for their latest League Two fixture.
The hosts are currently enjoying a three-match unbeaten streak and have the potential to climb into the top half of the table with three points.
Match preview
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Colchester United picked up a point in their most recent outing of the season away at Rochdale, where a Max Taylor own goal helped them to a 1-1 draw.
This marked the third game in a row where the U's were not defeated, coming off the back of a victory and a draw in the league which have helped the club climb to 13th.
Colchester have proven themselves to be tough to score past so far this season, with no team managing to put more than a single goal past them, yet they have not kept a clean sheet since the opening day draw to Carlisle United.
This is the first full season that Hayden Mullins has been in charge of, after taking over as manager in May of this year, and he has certainly made the team more robust.
However, goals have been hard to come by for the U's so far, with only one of them being from open play, as their others have either been penalties from Freddie Sears or the recent own goal.
Colchester are yet to register a victory at home in front of their fans this season, and taking on bottom-of-the-league Sutton United might present the right opportunity to set that record straight.
Matt Gray's squad have found life in League Two difficult so far since gaining promotion last season as National League champions, and the team is yet to register a win in the division.
Currently stuck to the foot of the table there are improvements to be made, but Sutton will take positives from their recent EFL Trophy fixture, which saw them earn a confidence-boosting 3-0 win against Crystal Palace's Under-21s.
Despite the fact that they have lost two out of their four league fixtures, Gray's men have put up a fight in each game, having only been defeated by one goal each time, proving they plan on being hard to beat as they aim to survive this season.
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Team News
Unlike their opponents, Colchester did not have a midweek fixture and therefore they should head into this game much fresher, providing Mullins with plenty of options.
The experience of Sears and Frank Nouble will be called upon as normal by the U's, but the club did make a deadline day signing as Armando Doja joined on loan from Ipswich Town, adding to their attack.
Both Ben Wyatt and Ricky Korboa were handed starts in the victory against Crystal Palace's Under-21s, and with the midfielder finding the back of the net and the team keeping a clean sheet, there is a good chance both will retain their places.
Tobi Sho-Silva was also on the scoresheet in midweek, but Sutton were able to bring back Isaac Olaofe on transfer deadline day, rejoining the club on loan after scoring 14 goals last season to help them earn promotion, bolstering their attacking options.
Colchester United possible starting lineup:
George; Welch-Hayes, Chambers, Smith, Daniels; Skuse, Sarpong-Wiredu, Sears, Jasper, Chilvers; Nouble
Sutton United possible starting lineup:
Bouzanis; Barden, Goodlife, John, Wyatt; Korboa, Beautyman, Eastmond, Ajiboye; Bugiel, Olaofe
We say: Colchester United 2-1 Sutton United
Even though Sutton United head into this game on the back of a victory, it is still hard to see them managing to overcome the U's in this fixture.
Colchester have good momentum and a lot of attacking quality and experience, which could prove to be vital in what will no doubt be a hard-fought contest.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sutton United win with a probability of 43.36%. A win for Colchester United had a probability of 28.46% and a draw had a probability of 28.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sutton United win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.29%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.54%) and 1-2 (8.4%). The likeliest Colchester United win was 1-0 (10.17%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.07%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 3.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sutton United would win this match.
