Cambridge United face the start of their gruelling promotion run-in against Forest Green Rovers

While Cambridge United are still sat second in League Two, the chasing pack are hot on their tails and have games in hand to bridge the gap to the automatic promotion places.

The U’s have accrued 61 points from their 36 league games so far this season, but every team in the top half of the table has at least one game in hand on Mark Bonner’s side, meaning that their position in the top three is in real jeopardy.

This isn’t helped by the difficulty of their promotion run-in. Cambridge face six promotion contenders in back-to-back games over the next four weeks, including crucial matches against Forest Green Rovers, Tranmere, Exeter and Newport.

In fact, based on their opposition’s current league position, Cambridge’s run-in is the hardest of any team in the entire division. The average position of their final ten opponents is 10.3, not helped by facing four of the current top seven between now and the end of the season.

Had a look at the #SkyBetLeagueTwo run-in, and made up a table of the average ranking of everyone’s remaining matches this season.#CamUTD have by far the hardest final fixtures, and have played more than almost all the other teams in the league. #PVFC with the easiest run-in. pic.twitter.com/0Nlsvqr00M

— Alex Jones (@AlexJCambs) March 18, 2021

This demanding run of games kicks off on Saturday, when the U’s welcome third place Forest Green to The Abbey Stadium. Mark Cooper’s side have been challenging at the top end of the table over recent weeks, but a minor dip in form saw them slip to crushing defeats against Southend United and Stevenage.

Nonetheless, the Gloucestershire outfit have proven that they’re undoubtedly going to be challenging for one of the three automatic promotion places – a target that many Cambridge fans have also set their hearts on, despite being largely tipped for a mid-table finish at the start of the season.

Much of their success has been down to League Two top scorer Paul Mullin, who joined the U’s on a free transfer in the summer after leaving Tranmere Rovers. The 26-year-old has found the back of the net 24 times in just 36 games, equalling the club record of league goals in a single season set by David Crown in 1986.

Wes Hoolahan’s influence in midfield has been crucial, despite his age restricting him from playing more than once a week. The 38-year-old has contributed to ten goals so far this campaign, scoring four and assisting six. He also creates the second most chances per 90 minutes (2.08), only behind Harrogate Town’s George Thompson.

Ultimately, the U’s form has prevented them from extending their gap at the top of the table. Since 20th February, they’ve been on a run of winning a game and losing the following one, meaning that they’ve picked up 12 points from their last seven games.

This could really hurt the Cambridgeshire outfit. They’ve struggled to stabilise their form ahead of their upcoming run of games against the top sides in the division, and this could see them crash and burn in matches against their promotion rivals.

Having already suffered defeats to Cheltenham and Bolton in recent weeks, the upcoming clash against Forest Green provides the Cambridge a platform to prove they can beat the top sides in the division – something that they’ve regularly struggled to do. This was highlighted in the reverse fixture back in December, where the Green Devils totally dominated the U’s in a 2-0 victory.

If Bonner truly believes his side can achieve promotion, this is the kind of game they have to win. Just because other teams have games in hand on Cambridge doesn’t mean that they’ll necessarily win them and overtake the U’s, but they now need to prove to the chasing pack that they have what it takes to beat the teams challenging them in the upper echelons of the league and secure a top three finish.

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