Two early-season strugglers meet at Cledara Abbey on Saturday, when Cambridge United host Blackpool in League One.
While both sides go in search of their first league points of the season, the visitors come into this game without a manager, having sacked head coach Neil Critchley after consecutive league defeats.
Match preview
Cambridge come into the game on the back of a 2-0 opening-day defeat away at Stockport County and last weekend's 1-0 home loss at the hands of Crawley Town.
The EFL Cup provided no respite for Garry Monk's side either after losing 2-1 at home to Queens Park Rangers, when Paul Digby's goal was the only thing that the U's fans have had to celebrate this season thus far.
Cambridge finished just four points above the relegation zone in 18th last season, and goals were the main source of frustration as they were the second-lowest scorers in League One with just 39 scored in 46 games.
Monk joined Cambridge as their new head coach after Neil Harris left for Millwall back in March; his first managerial job since leaving Sheffield Wednesday back in 2020, but there was no discernible upturn in form after his arrival.
His style of play at Sheffield Wednesday was surprising given he played under the likes of Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers at Swansea City, with Monk favouring a more direct approach as opposed to the more controlled, technical style his former coaches often deployed.
Perhaps a realistic aim for Monk this season will be to finish in mid-table and avoid another relegation scrap, and Saturday's home game provides him with the chance to claim his first win of the season.
Similar to their opponents, Blackpool have also made a sluggish start to the new campaign having lost consecutive league games, with a 2-1 opening-day defeat at Crawley Town being followed up with a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Stockport.
The latter was Blackpool's first home league defeat since November 2023, and losing to two newly-promoted teams in consecutive weeks was enough for the board to make an early managerial change by sacking Critchley.
Former Derby County defender Richard Keogh has since been appointed as caretaker manager for the Seasiders, and it will be interesting to see if he adopts the back five Critchley played, or whether he has time to implement a new formation and style of play with just a matter of days to prepare.
The Seasiders did however win away in the EFL Cup last week, when goals from Ryan Finnigan, Matthew Pennington and Lee Evans secured a resounding 4-0 win over Burton Albion.
Blackpool finished eighth last season and missed out on the playoffs by just three points, and with exciting signings like Ashley Fletcher, Jordan Rhodes and Elliot Embleton over the summer, there is still plenty of reason for optimism for the Seasiders should they turn their form around.
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
Team News
The only injury concern for Monk is that of defender Mamadou Jobe, who suffered a serious knee injury prior to pre-season.
Striker Shayne Lavery is in line to play against his former club after joining the U's from Blackpool over the summer, and Elias Kachunga and Sullay Kaikai will be hoping to support in attack.
Keogh has a fully-fit squad to pick from in his first game as a manager, and it remains to be seen if he will continue with the back five that was preferred by Critchley.
If he does only opt for small tweaks to the lineup, then the likes of Rhodes and Embleton will be looking to start to provide more attacking quality in the side.
Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Reyes; O'Riordan, Rossi, Watts; Gibbons, Digby, Smith, Brophy; Kachunga, Kaikai; Lavery
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Grimshaw; Pennington, Baggott, Husband; Apter, Embleton, Evans, Carey, Coulson; Rhodes, Fletcher
We say: Cambridge United 1-2 Blackpool
Although both teams have made slow starts to the season, Blackpool demonstrated last year that they have enough quality in their ranks to push for the playoffs.
There is also some intrigue here with Richard Keogh's first managerial game, and the new manager bounce might also be enough to see the Seasiders leave Cambridge with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
