Cambridge United
The U’s are on the road this weekend and it’s a derby match against Luton Town. The Hatters and The U’s have been in and around the same league’s for the last few years and this rivalry has built up over time, so it’ll be a test for the players this weekend with both teams sure to be fired up. Cambridge are yet to beat Luton since their return to League 2 in the league itself, losing four and drawing one (including a 3-0 defeat for the U’s at home this season), however have had some success in the cup when they managed to knock them out of the FA cup in 2015 with a 2-1 win.
Luton sit in 6th, the playoff position that the U’s held themselves until this recent blip in form, and you’d have to say going into the game Luton would by favourites. If you look at the form over the last 6 games Cambridge are ranked 9th whereas Luton are 11th. However, Cambridge have hit their bad run in the last two outings and can sometimes struggle coming off a bad defeat, Derry took a long time to get over the hump in the first half of the season.
The U’s will be looking to Uche Ikpeazu to add to his tally and talisman Luke Berry to add to his 10 this season, these two people are critical to Cambridge performing and the U’s away form is a positive, teams tend to come out and play more which gives Berry the space to influence the game. However, Luton carry a big goal threat themselves. Danny Hylton has already scored 11 league goals this season (more than any Cambridge player), and former U’s player Cameron McGeehan has slammed in 10 goals but if unfortunately injured and recovering from a broken leg.
This is an important game for the U’s to get the playoff push back on track. Derry seem’s unlikely to add anymore firepower to the team so the team he’s got need to bounce back. It’ll be an interesting affair and I can’t see it finishing 0-0, but if the U’s play like they did a month ago they have every chance.
After last week’s predictions, Jack and Lewis both sit on 1 point and Matt sits on 0, with no one getting a perfect score. What do the boys have to say this week
Matt says: I think Derry has learnt from his mistakes and found a new way to motivate the lads, last week was a huge shock to the system but sometimes those are required to grow as a team, I’m going for Cambridge to win 1-0.
Jack says: The phrase must-win is brandished about all too often, but Cambridge MUST WIN this if they want to stay in touch with the playoff pack. Luton are sitting pretty in 6th and will fancy themselves for the win. Sadly I’m going for 2-1 Luton.
Lewis says: 2-0 Luton for me. I can only see last week’s demoralising, no positives loss as a form killer for Cambridge and they’ll struggle, as always, against Luton, who are on a good run at the minute.
Cambridge City
City host Chesham town this weekend. City have been out of action for a couple of weeks now due to adverse weather and will be looking to continue their revival and continue to claw themselves closer to safety. They currently only sit 2 points from safety (although their rivals have some games in hand), and look much more solid under the current regime. Chesham United sit 8th in the league with over double the amount of points Cambridge have picked up this season, this will be a solid test for City and they’ll be delighted to take anything home from this affair on paper, however with a rested squad and the improvements shown in recent times, I think an upset can be caused.
Histon FC
The Stutes travel to Kidlington this weekend and despite the weather calling off games and breaking up their good form, there is a strong belief around Histon that nothing is impossible. A few weeks ago Histon were all but relegated but one of the most impressive turnarounds in form seen in recent years at any level has given them a chance. Kidlington are the team Histon will be hunting down as well, sitting just out of the relegation zone Histon will consider this a very winnable tie and I predict even though the Stutes are away, they can win this one.
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Published by Matthew Robinson