Cambridge face their biggest test of the season as Cheltenham visit The Abbey

Six months into the 2020/21 season, Cambridge United continue to defy the odds and remain top of the Sky Bet League Two table.

The U’s have won half of the 30 league matches they’ve played so far this season, sitting a point above Forest Green Rovers in second place. The problem comes from the fact that all of the teams below them have multiple games in hand, so their grasp on the automatic promotion places is severely under threat.

One such team is Cheltenham Town, who currently occupy third place in the fourth tier. The Robins are sat six points behind Mark Bonner’s men, but know that by winning their two games in hand, they can go above the U’s in the table. That adds an extra dimension to Tuesday night’s clash between the two sides at The Abbey.

Of course, a win for the hosts will see them extend their lead over Michael Duff’s side, regardless of their games in hand. Cambridge suffered a minor blip where they fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Salford City, before grinding out an uninspiring 0-0 draw with relegation-battling Southend. However, a 3-0 away win against a resurgent Mansfield Town side has seen their confidence skyrocket once again.

This upcoming run of winnable matches is crucial for the league leaders if they truly want to cement their position in the automatic promotion places. The U’s will have their eye on a hellacious set of fixtures that run from mid-March to mid-April, which sees them face six of the promotion favourites back-to-back, including a colossal home tie against Forest Green Rovers.

But despite the current optimism, and perhaps the concern about their future fixtures, Bonner will be fully aware of the magnitude of their next game against Cheltenham. The Robins have picked up ten points from their last five league games, as well as pushing Premier League leaders Manchester City to the limit in their FA Cup fourth round tie.

League Two top scorer Paul Mullin will have his eyes on the record books on Tuesday night. The 26-year-old has astonishingly found the back of the net 22 times in just 30 league games so far this season, meaning that he is just two goals away from tying David Crown’s record of 24 goals in a single league campaign for Cambridge United, set all the way back in 1986. He’s already scored against the Robins this season, netting a 95th minute equaliser when the sides last met at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium back in November.

However, breaking down Cheltenham is far from an easy task. Duff’s 5-3-2 formation focuses on defensive cohesion and organisation, making them an incredibly tough team to break down and score against. The Robins have conceded just 26 goals in the league this season, the tied third lowest in the entire division. That being said, Bradford City were able to capitalise on two shocking defensive errors as they strolled to a 2-0 win in Gloucestershire over the weekend.

With this matchup pitting second against third, it could arguably be seen as the most important match in League Two this week. A Cambridge win would see them truly nail down their position as promotion favourites, while a loss could see Cheltenham, among a whole host of other teams, close the gap on the U’s at the top of the table.

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