Threadbare Cambridge United face nightmare game against in-form Burton Albion

There might not be a worse time for Cambridge United to play Burton Albion.

Of course, the Brewers will grab the pre-match headlines after their electric start to the season. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s side have won all three of their opening league games, including consecutive victories against the bookies’ promotion favourites with Sunderland and Ipswich Town being put to the sword in their respective trips to the Pirelli Stadium last week.

Cambridge’s form isn’t quite as impressive. They’re yet to pick up their first win since returning to the third tier, and fell to a defeat away at Accrington Stanley last weekend. That being said, draws at home to Oxford United and away at Plymouth Argyle could be seen as crucial results as the season progresses.

Their 1-1 draw at Home Park on Tuesday night came with a lot of positives, but a serious ankle injury to captain Greg Taylor has been the overriding thought in the minds of fans and head coach Mark Bonner.

While the club are yet to find out the extent of the damage, it is expected that he will miss the vast majority of the current campaign. He joins new arrival Jubril Okedina on the sidelines, leaving the U’s with just one fit centre-back in Lloyd Jones.

Speaking to the press on Thursday morning, Bonner elaborated on Taylor’s injury.

“It’s as bad as we thought it might be to begin with. It’ll be a fairly significant amount of time that he’s going to be out for, which fundamentally is bad for the team and bad for us losing the captain and leader of the team. He’s a really important part of what we are and what achieved last year.”

Paul Digby was given the nod to step into defence against Accrington, with the U’s unable to name Okedina or Jones in their squad through injury. While the latter was able to start against Plymouth on the following Tuesday, left-back Jack Iredale was moved to centre-back after Taylor was stretchered off after just half-an-hour.

Cambridge seemed more comfortable with Digby in midfield, and Iredale looked a more natural fit in the centre of defence. With Bonner confirming that Okedina will remain sidelined for another two to three weeks, it seems likely that the U’s will stick with the same lineup that played after the half-hour mark in Devon.

Of course, the club are now looking for potential signings to ease the pressure on their threadbare defensive options. Bonner confirmed that Cambridge had hoped to bring in another defender at the same time as Okedina’s arrival, but ultimately the deal fell through and he ended up moving elsewhere.

It seems increasingly unlikely that the U’s will have defensive reinforcements for the game against Burton, which positions the visitors as heavy favourites to take the points at The Abbey on Saturday. After all, the Brewers are one of two sides in League One to win their first three games, sitting second in the table behind Portsmouth on goal difference alone.

Many people questioned Bonner’s managerial skills given the fact that his side remained almost injury-free for the entire 2020/21 campaign. He now faces his first injury crisis since taking over at the club, and the spotlight will be on him to see how he handles the situation.

Burton were not tipped to be amongst the promotion favourites in this year’s star-studded League One lineup, but the bookies have sat up and taken notice of their impressive start to the season. They now have similar odds for promotion as the likes of Wigan Athletic, Charlton Athletic and Lincoln City.

While it seems unlikely that they’ll keep their place in the top two for the rest of the campaign, Hasselbaink’s side are riding an impressive wave of confidence and momentum. Lining up with a makeshift defence against one of the in-form sides in the third tier will be a big concern for Cambridge fans on Saturday afternoon.

That being said, the U’s have fought against the odds ever since Bonner took charge in March 2020. Although they remain winless, they’ve caused some shocks by taking points off Oxford and Plymouth. The U’s head coach has said his side will thrive off being the underdog, and that’s certainly what they’ll be against Burton.

Wes Hoolahan’s return to the lineup will provide a huge boost, and there will be hopes that Joe Ironside can build on his impressive form. The 27-year-old is the tied top scorer in League One with three goals, level with Morecambe’s Cole Stockton.

Breaking down the Brewers’ defence will be a colossal challenge, having only conceded one league goal so far this season. Bonner’s decision to play with a lone striker has left Ironside looking isolated against tougher opponents, and the U’s will need to create better chances for him if they’re to get a result on Saturday afternoon.

This fixture comes at an incredibly busy time for Cambridge, who’ll travel to Millwall in the Carabao Cup in between consecutive home games in League One. The lack of squad depth will make this an unbelievably tough run of fixtures for the U’s key players, who’ll be heavily relied upon over the coming weeks.

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