Carabao Cup action returns on Tuesday evening as Cambridge United welcome Championship side - and former winners - Queens Park Rangers to the Cledara Abbey Stadium for their First Round tie…
How to Watch
Tickets are selling well for the midweek tie under the floodlights, which gets underway at 7:45pm. Fans yet to secure their place can buy their tickets online at cufctickets.com, over the phone by calling 01223 655500 (option 1) or alternatively visiting the Cledara Abbey Ticket Office prior to kick-off.
Unable to attend? Fans in the UK can still watch every second of the action live on Sky Sports+, which is broadcasting every Round One clash as part of the brand new five-year agreement. Due to international broadcasting rights, the game is not available to watch on CUFC TV.
Opposition Focus
Part of the Championship furniture, Tuesday’s visitors are the joint-top longest serving side in the Championship alongside Bristol City and Preston North End following their relegation from the Premier League back in 2015. In nine campaigns since, they’ve finished in the top ten on just the solitary occasion and have avoided the drop with rankings of 20th and 18th most recently. Under Spaniard Marti Cifuentes, however, it’s about more than just survival, with a really good core that on their day can deliver the consistency to reach towards the top half. In their remaining 19 games of 2023/24, they registered ten wins, five wins and just four defeats – continue in that fashion and the Loftus Road faithful will be more than fulfilled.
Progression into the next round of the Carabao Cup will also help recapture momentum following Saturday’s 1-3 reverse to West Brom, where Lucas Andersen’s first-half opener was cancelled out by a Josh Maja hat-trick. The 1967 winners will be hoping it’s third time lucky after being downed at the first hurdle of this competition by Norwich City and Charlton Athletic the year previously. A mazy cup run whilst going under the radar will only boost the growing spirits.
The dice is expected to be rolled in terms of changes, but whoever is deployed will make it tough for the U’s. 30-year-old goalkeeper Paul Nardi is tasting his first spell in England following a summer move from Gent, whilst a familiar back four consists of Jimmy Dunne, the experienced Steve Cook, Jake Clarke-Salter and Kenneth Paal – all are settled and good in the tackle.
Jack Colback and Sam Field occupy the engine room in the middle of the park, with an array of options in Paul Smyth, Algerian Rayan Kolli and former Lugano hotshot Zan Celar – an unknown to these shores but his record speaks for itself. There’s plenty more exuberant stars looking for minutes, such as Jonathan Varane – a combative midfielder plucked from Sporting Gijon – Scotland international Lyndon Dykes and 18-year-old Daniel Bennie, who impressed with his native Perth Glory.
Form Guide
- 20/07/2024 – QPR 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur – Pre-Season
- 24/07/2024 – Fulham 4-0 QPR – Pre-Season
- 27/07/2024 – Reading 1-0 QPR – Pre-Season
- 03/08/2024 – QPR 0-1 Brighton & Hove Albion – Pre-Season
- 10/08/2024 – QPR 1-3 West Bromwich Albion – Sky Bet Championship
The Amber Angle
The U’s will be hoping a cup run can be the perfect tonic to cancel out last weekend’s opening day defeat – their first since the 2018/19 season – as League One newcomers Stockport County proved too strong with a 2-0 success at Edgeley Park.
A testing start to the afternoon in Greater Manchester saw loanee Louie Barry capitalise early on with an instinctive long-range lob. This in turn ramped up the momentum for the Hatters, who were really fluid in the final third and accumulated plenty of opportunities, but the U’s to their credit kept the door shut and generated some key chances throughout. The game was put to bed late on when Kyle Wootton headed home to cap off a dominant display and secure the three points.
Reflecting on his side’s performance, Garry Monk admitted: “I’d call it a patchy performance – there were parts of it that were good but parts we have to get better at… It’s a work in progress.
Whilst it’s the bread and butter that is the third tier which is at the forefront of their minds, the EFL Cup is a brief and welcome distraction, and one where the U’s have fared well against higher league opposition in the past. Since 2019, they’ve seen off Brentford, Birmingham City and Millwall, but will look to rectify last season’s surprise defeat to Sutton United on penalties. A useful workout and 90 key minutes in the tank awaits.
Head-to-Head
Cambridge United Wins: 4
QPR Wins: 4
Draws: 2
Last Time We Met
Tuesday 27 July 2021 – Cambridge United 1-2 QPR – Pre-Season Friendly
Although it’s been 22 years since their last competitive meeting, where the U’s and the Hoops played out a goalless draw in the Second Division, they did in fact lock horns back in July 2021 by celebrating the services of Harrison Dunk with a testimonial against his boyhood club. In front of 3,158 at CB5, the visitors proved too superior with strikes from Ilias Chair and Lyndon Dykes, whilst Adam May offered a late consolation. From the squad that night, only Paul Digby, James Brophy and Mamadou Jobe remain at the club.
Boot in Both Camps
Before earning his name as a well-respected, rock and roll manager, Gareth Ainsworth enjoyed a fine playing career as a direct winger. The 51-year-old only briefly appeared for the U’s in 1992/93 but would go on to follow fellow link John Beck at Preston North End and Lincoln City before his seven-year affiliation with QPR between 2003 to 2010. In the dugout, he became a revelation at Wycombe Wanderers, guiding the side from the brink of relegation to the Conference to a brave season in the Championship in 2021. Ainsworth returned to the Hoops as Head Coach in February 2023 but was dismissed eight months later. Since then, he’s spent his time focusing on his band The Cold Blooded Hearts, stating: “I’ve been a football player, a football manager and then I could be touring with a rock band in America.”
Officials
Referee: Paul Howard
Assistant Referee: Andy Bennett
Assistant Referee: Andrew Aylott
Fourth Official: Robert Massey-Ellis