Preview: Cambridge United vs. Bristol Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides that are battling against relegation from League One successful 2024-25 are acceptable to clash astatine the Abbey Stadium connected Saturday day erstwhile Cambridge United big Bristol Rovers.

The hosts are 23rd successful the array with 17 points from their opening 23 fixtures, portion the visitors are 20th successful the standings with 22 points from their archetypal 23 games.

Match preview

© Imago

Cambridge United initially enjoyed a beardown archetypal play successful League One aft earning promotion from the 4th tier successful 2020-21, going connected to decorativeness 14th successful the array and 18 points wide of the driblet portion successful 2021-22.

However, they person fallen importantly down the array successful the pursuing 2 and a fractional seasons, narrowly surviving successful 2022-23 successful 20th spot with 46 points, conscionable a constituent supra the drop, and placing 18th successful 2022-23, conscionable 4 points supra the relegation zone.

Cambridge's struggles person continued successful the archetypal fractional of this campaign, heading into their 24th matchday of the play sitting 23rd successful the array with conscionable 17 points from 23 games, aft 4 wins, 5 draws and 14 losses.

That leaves Garry Monk's broadside conscionable 3 points supra bottom-placed Burton Albion and trailing 20th-placed Bristol Rovers by 5 points, a spread to information that Cambridge volition beryllium anxious to adjacent successful the remainder of the term.

They caput into this lucifer successful hunt of their archetypal triumph successful six games, having endured 5 defeats and 1 gully during that stretch, including 4 consecutive losses with an aggregate people of 11-2 successful their astir caller outings.

A triumph against Bristol Rovers could beryllium captious successful their endurance attempts, with the visitors occupying 20th-place, leaving this 1 arsenic a important relegation six-pointer astatine the halfway constituent of the season.

The visitors are enduring a disappointing run compared to their finishes successful the past 2 years successful League One, having finished 17th successful 2022-23, their archetypal twelvemonth backmost successful League One pursuing promotion the anterior year, and climbing to 15th successful 2023-24.

Their mediocre commencement to the campaign, which saw Bristol Rovers triumph six, gully 3 and suffer 10 of their opening 19, resulted successful the sacking of Matt Taylor, but they person failed to amended nether interim manager David Horseman and caller brag Inigo Calderon.

They person drawn 1 and mislaid 3 of their past 4 matches, leaving Calderon inactive searching for his archetypal triumph astatine the club, and the Spaniard volition beryllium hopeless to instrumentality each 3 points successful this 1 with the relegation portion looming large.

Cambridge United League One form:

Cambridge United signifier (all competitions):

Bristol Rovers League One form:

Team News

© Imago

Elias Kachunga became Cambridge's outright apical scorer successful the league with his 5th extremity of the word past clip out, his 4th successful his past six appearances, and the hosts volition beryllium hoping the striker tin marque the quality here.

Elsewhere, contempt losing to Reading successful that match, aspects of the show would person encouraged Monk, meaning the manager could sanction a akin broadside for this one.

As for the visitors, Promise Omochere came disconnected injured successful the 22nd infinitesimal of their 3-2 nonaccomplishment to Leyton Orient, meaning Chris Martin, who came connected to people doubly successful that game, is apt to commencement here.

Jamie Lindsay could besides marque a instrumentality to the starting 11 aft the midfielder served a one-game suspension successful the past outing pursuing his reddish paper against Stevenage.

Cambridge United imaginable starting lineup:
Stevens; Okedina, Morrison, Andrew; Bennett, Cousins, Smith, Brophy; Stokes; N'Lundulu, Kachunga

We say: Cambridge United 1-1 Bristol Rovers

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