Having both fought back to record emphatic round one victories in the FA Cup, Peterborough United and Notts County prepare for battle at the Weston Homes Stadium in the second round on Saturday afternoon.
The Posh produced a terrific turnaround to conquer Newport County 4-2 in their opener, while their visitors demolished Alfreton Town 5-1 despite conceding early.
Match preview
Not since the 2005-06 season have Peterborough fallen at the first hurdle in the FA Cup, but the Posh's hopes of at least reaching the second phase for the 19th year running were in serious jeopardy when Anthony Driscoll-Glennon and Kai Whitmore put Newport County two goals to the good inside the opening seven minutes.
An Abraham Odoh response put Peterborough right back in the mix before the break, before Joel Randall got the Posh back on level terms with 19 minutes left to go, and Darren Ferguson's men would ultimately be indebted to substitute Ricky-Jade Jones's 89th and 93rd-minute strikes in a six-goal spectacular.
Peterborough's exceptional fightback at Rodney Parade marked their 14th win from their last 15 FA Cup matches versus lower-league opposition - their only defeat in that sequence came to Chorley in the second round of the 2020-21 edition - but that loss is just the second time in nine seasons that the hosts have been sent packing in round two.
The immediate aftermath of the Newport success saw Ferguson's side prolong their hot streak against Crystal Palace Under-21s (4-1 in the EFL Trophy) and Cambridge United (6-1 in League One), but they were subjected to a rude awakening in last Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to Reading.
As Peterborough's comeback powers failed them against the Royals, Ferguson's side are entrenched in mid-table League One obscurity in 13th place and are now without a clean sheet in eight games in all tournaments, last shutting out Stevenage in the EFL Trophy on October 8.
Eerily, upcoming visitors Notts County also had to harness their fightback powers to triumph in a six-goal spectacle last time out in the FA Cup, when National League North side Alfreton rocked up to Meadow Lane and took an early lead through Liam Waldock.
However, the non-league outfit failed to clip the Magpies' wings, as Matty Platt levelled within two minutes of his side falling behind, before Alassana Jatta and Jevani Brown both struck braces in a second-half slaughter, thus ensuring that Notts County would make the second round in back-to-back seasons.
Progressing beyond this point has been a fruitless task for the Magpies for several years, though, as they have not advanced further than round two since the 2017-18 campaign, where they drew 1-1 with Swansea City in the fourth round before suffering an 8-1 embarrassment in the replay.
Stuart Maynard's men have failed to kick on in League Two since their cup triumph on November 1, though, failing to win any of their last three matches in the fourth tier and dropping to fifth in the table as a result, albeit with just a three-point gap to current runners-up Walsall.
None of Notts County's last four away games across all competitions has ended in victory either, and the Magpies have also failed to prevail in any of their last seven matches against Peterborough, most recently falling to a 2-0 replay loss in the 2016-17 second round.
Team News
Peterborough United defender Emmanuel Fernandez - scorer of his side's consolation against Reading - picked up a suspension-inducing fifth yellow card of the League One season last weekend, but his punishment only applies to third-tier matches, so he is fine to face Notts County here.
In terms of injuries, on-loan Manchester City midfielder Mahamadou Susoho is unlikely to return from a muscle problem until January - he is currently recovering at his parent club - and Bradley Ihionvien will also be out until the New Year with a bizarre issue; Ferguson recently revealed that another bone was found to be growing in the striker's leg.
Jed Steer, Rio Adebisi and Hector Kyprianou are a couple of weeks away from playing again, but the Posh's ranks might be boosted by the return of another Man City loanee in Jadel Katongo, who is on the cusp of coming back from a hamstring concern.
Notts County head coach Maynard has made no bones about his side's "terrible" injury situation during their League Two slump, as Jodi Jones, Curtis Edwards, Conor Grant, Scott Robertson and Dan Crowley are all on the treatment table.
With Jones sidelined, two-goal Alfreton heroes Jatta and Brown are certainties in the final third, where Josh Martin and former Premier League striker David McGoldrick should scrap it out to complete the attacking trident.
Key defender Jacob Bedeau was banned for the draw with Newport County last time out, but the 24-year-old is eligible to return on Saturday.
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Bilokapic; Donnelly, Nevett, Fernandez, Sparkes; Collins, De Havilland; Poku, Randall, Odoh; Jones
Notts County possible starting lineup:
Bass; Ness, Bedeau, Platt; Tsaroulla, Abbott, Palmer, Gordon; Brown, Jatta, McGoldrick
We say: Peterborough United 2-0 Notts County
Reading aside, Peterborough have been breaching nets for fun over the past few weeks and should need no second invitation to capitalise on Notts County's patchy form and ongoing selection woes.
There ought to be no FA Cup shocks or barnstorming comebacks at the Weston Homes Stadium, where Peterborough have our vote to comfortably advance to round three, most likely with a long-awaited clean sheet.
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