Peterborough United take on Salford City at the Weston Holmes Stadium in the first round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

It is a first competitive meeting between the two clubs, with the home side in League One, and the visitors in their highest ever division, League Two.

Match preview

Peterborough are on a three-game winning streak in the league, a run that has moved them up to fourth in the league standings, as they once again vie for promotion to the second tier.

Grant McCann's side have earned themselves a healthy six-point gap between themselves and seventh-placed Derby County courtesy of their recent good run of form, but they remain six points off the automatic promotion places.

Recent form has really helped to turn around Posh's season after a dismal run began at the end of August, losing six games on the spin in all competitions and crashing out of the EFL Cup to League Two side Stevenage.

Having won their last two home games, defeating Accrington Stanley 3-1 last Tuesday before following it up with a 1-0 win against Cambridge United at the weekend, Peterborough will fancy their chances against lower-league opposition.

However, after already being eliminated from the EFL Cup by a fourth tier side, McCann's men will have to be cautious to ensure that overconfidence does not have an impact on proceedings, potentially bringing their good run to a halt.

Salford are currently eighth in the League Two standings, just one place shy of the playoff places, having made a decent start to life under Neil Wood.

While promotion has always been the aim for the club owned by the 'Class of 92', a playoff berth has eluded them since promotion out of the National League in 2019, narrowly missing out in each of their three seasons in the EFL.

Inconsistency has been somewhat to blame for this, and there may be similar problems this season, with the Ammies only winning two consecutive league games on one occasion this season, dating back to victories over Crewe Alexandra and Newport County in August.

It will also have hurt Wood's side to have lost three of their last four league matches, defeated by Bradford City and Stockport County at home, and Leyton Orient on their travels.

Orient are top of the league under former Ammies boss Richie Wellens, who was sacked by the club, and he got his revenge on his former club courtesy of a first-half strike from Paul Smyth.

Team News

It remains to be seen how seriously McCann wants to take the FA Cup this season, with promotion undoubtedly the main aim for his side, but he is likely to start the bulk of the players who played against Cambridge United last time out.

Joe Ward may be brought in however, with the midfielder inching closer to a return from an injury sustained against Oxford United in late October.

Jonson Clarke-Harris is League One's top scorer with 11 goals to his name so far, but his manager may choose to rest him for a match against League Two opposition, with Jack Marriott potentially coming in.

Salford know that they will have to be at their best to progress to the next round, so Wood may field a strong side, with the back three likely to consist of Ryan Leak, Theo Vassell, and Ashley Eastham.

Since losing striker Brandon Thomas-Asante to West Bromwich Albion earlier this season, the Ammies have struggled to replace his goals, with Matt Smith usually the first choice in attack, who is yet to score in twelve league games.

Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Bergstrom; Thompson, Edwards, Kent, Butler; Fuchs, Taylor; Kyprianou, Mason-Clark, Poku; Marriott

Salford City possible starting lineup:
King; Leak, Vassell, Eastham; Watson, Lund, Watt, Touray; Simoes, Bailey, Smith

We say: Peterborough United 2-0 Salford City

Peterborough are on a good run of form, and they should win this one fairly comfortably. The visitors are one of League Two's better sides, but they cannot compete with the type of quality possessed by a team that is pushing for promotion to the Championship.

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