Scunthorpe out for revenge as they travel to league leaders Cambridge

Despite dangling perilously above the relegation zone, Scunthorpe United’s improved form will see them travel to The Abbey with hopes of exacting revenge.

The Iron went on a four-match winning run at the end of January, which was kick started by a 3-0 win against arch-rivals Grimsby Town. Ultimately, the postponed fixtures caught up with them, meaning that they head into Tuesday night’s clash on the back of consecutive defeats to Bolton and Cheltenham.

Nonetheless, Neil Cox’s side will be desperate to get one back on their opponents after they were humiliated in the reverse fixture back in October. Cambridge stormed to a 5-0 victory at Glanford Park, with Scunthorpe down to ten men for the last 35 minutes of the game.

The Lincolnshire side have played the U’s three times since they were relegated from League One in 2019, and have lost all three games by an aggregate score of 10-2. With Mark Bonner’s side sat top of the League Two table, they remain heavy favourites to come away with three points on Tuesday evening.

The priority for the visitors is to distance themselves from the drop zone, with the club sitting in 19th, nine points above Barrow in the last relegation spot. Nonetheless, they may be optimistic that they can come away with a shock result to exact revenge and propel themselves into mid-table. Extra motivation may come from knowing that a win for the Iron on Tuesday night could see the U’s drop down to third.

While Cambridge remain at the top of the league, their form has been worryingly inconsistent as of late. The U’s have only won two of their last five games, including defeats against promotion rivals Salford and Cheltenham. Southend’s 0-0 draw at The Abbey has proved that lower ranked teams can come to Cambridgeshire and nullify one of the most potent attacking duos in the division.

This will involve shutting out League Two’s top scorer, Paul Mullin, who has scored 22 goals in just 32 games. The 26-year-old is now just three goals away from breaking David Crown’s record of 24 goals for Cambridge in a single league campaign. After his brace in the U’s last game against Scunthorpe, Mullin may see a hat-trick as a realistic target, despite the Iron’s drastic improvement over the last few weeks.

Cambridge’s place at the summit of League Two is in significant danger – with Forest Green Rovers, Cheltenham and Tranmere all able to overtake the U’s with their games in hand. They will face all but two of the top ten teams in the division in their promotion run-in, so will need as many points as possible from their upcoming matches against Scunthorpe, Walsall and Oldham.

But their complacency has ultimately cost them the opportunity to extend their lead at the top of the table. Dropping points against the likes of Southend has put them in a perilous position in terms of their promotion aspirations. The U’s will have to look past their previous result at Glanford Park, as well as Scunthorpe’s current league position, if they are to remain focused and secure all three points on Tuesday evening.

George Taft will miss out on facing his former side, with the 27-year-old suffering a long-term ankle injury in the Iron’s 2-0 defeat at home to Cheltenham. The U’s have no fresh concerns from their win at Port Vale, but are still not yet able to welcome Paul Digby back into the squad. Liam O’Neil and Hiram Boateng have both returned from their respective injuries, meaning that Bonner has a selection dilemma ahead of their next few games.

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