The U's welcome Tottenham Hotspur Under 21's to The Abbey sitting top at the top of Group H (Southern)...
Form:
Cambridge United Form: LWWLW
Mark Bonner’s men face off against Tottenham having comfortably beat Oxford United in their opening game of the group stages. A brace from Sam Smith either side of Luke McNally’s red card saw the U’s race into a two-goal lead before half-time, before goals from Harvey Knibbs and Kai Yearn sealed the points for The U’s.
In the league, despite falling to a 5-1 defeat to Lincoln a week and a half ago, The U’s have been in fine form, having won three of their previous four league outings. Most recently, Luke O’Neil’s excellent volley, coupled with a towering header from Joe Ironside earned United all three points against Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
Tottenham Hotspur Under 21’s Form: WLWWD (Includes U23’s results)
Tottenham Under 21’s arrive at The Abbey off the back of beating Stevenage in an entertaining 4-3 encounter in their opening Papa John’s Trophy game - and are only denied top spot in Group H due to United’s superior goal difference. Harvey White’s brace, as well goals from Brooklyn Lyons-Foster and Yago Alonso were enough on the night to see off ‘Boro
In the league, Wayne Burnett’s men currently sit 5th in Premier League 2, having won two and drawn two of their opening five games – with Spurs’ only PL2 defeat coming at the hands of north London rivals Arsenal.
Most recently, Spurs’ Under-23s were forced to settle for a point in a Premier League 2 thriller last Friday night as they were held to a 3-3 draw away to Blackburn Rovers – despite being two goals up in the game.
Quick Quotes:
U’s boss Mark Bonner isn’t expecting to walkover Tottenham Under 21’s on Tuesday: “We are expecting a good side actually, I think you can add five or six missing internationals [from Tottenham U21’s last Papa John’s Trophy game], so we expect their team to change a little bit. It is hard to know so much about exactly what is going to show up, your knowledge of the opposition is less as we have got less games and less footage to go off to try and draw those comparisons.
“You have to make the night a little bit more about yourself sometimes, but it is a good opportunity for us to keep playing, and a positive result would all but secure our qualification which is obviously our aim for the night. We are looking forward to seeing a few other boys play that have not played so much recently.”
You can read everything United’s head coach had to say prior to the two side’s clash here.
Following his sides win over Stevenage in the group opener, Spurs’ manager Wayne Burnett said: "This competition, as I've said before, gives the players different tests, different challenges, playing against senior players, playing against players with experience, different types of teams, so the exposure that our players get from these games is invaluable and it's part of their growth and development."
Officials:
After overseeing Mansfield Town’s draw with Rochdale on Saturday, Carl Boyeson will head up The U’s clash with Tottenham Under 21’s. The 51-year-old has officiated predominantly in League’s One and Two this season. Greg Read and Michael Begly will assist Boyeson, with Abigail Byrne being appointed as fourth official.
Tickets:
The clash kicks off at 7pm, with tickets available online, over the phone by calling 01223 566500 (option 1) or by visiting the Abbey Stadium Ticket Office on Matchday.
Only the Main Stand will be open for this fixture, with tickets priced at £12 for Adults, £10 for Concessions and £1 for U18s.
If you can't make it to the game, stream the clash live on iFollow. Match Passes cost just £10 and are available to buy now. The simplest way to do so is by clicking here and selecting the Tottenham fixture.
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