Cambridge United's battle to escape the League One relegation zone will continue on Friday afternoon when they welcome Fleetwood Town to Cambridgeshire.

The home side are currently 23rd in the table, five points from the safety of 20th position, while Fleetwood occupy 13th, boasting 50 points from their 39 league games this term.

Match preview

Cambridge earned promotion from League Two in 2020-21 and finished 16th in the third tier last term, but they are currently in a relegation scrap heading towards the final straight.

Mark Bonner's side have picked up 33 points from their 38 league games this season, which has left them in 23rd position, five points from 20th-placed Oxford United on the same number of matches.

Cambridge will enter this match off the back of a morale-boosting win over Port Vale on Saturday, which was actually their first success in the league since the middle of February.

Bonner's team took the lead last time out through Sam Smith, before Lloyd Jones added a second shortly after, with the strugglers recording a 2-0 victory in Staffordshire.

Cambridge will now be bidding to build on that success, but they have only managed six home league victories this season, and Fleetwood have been relatively strong on their travels, claiming 25 points from 19 matches.

Fleetwood have been present in the third tier of English football since 2014, twice losing in the semi-finals of the playoffs during that period, but they were 20th last term, only surviving relegation on goal difference.

As a result, it has been an improved campaign for the Cods, who have picked up 50 points from their 39 league matches to sit comfortably in the middle of the table.

Scott Brown's side are 13th, 15 points clear of the bottom three, while they are 14 off the playoffs, so it does appear almost certain that the club will again play League One football next term.

Fleetwood are now unbeaten in their last four in the league, winning two of their last three in the process, although they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Exeter City on Saturday.

The Fishermen were 1-0 winners over Cambridge when the two sides locked horns for the reverse match on February 21, with Shaun Rooney's late goal proving to be the difference between the teams.

Team News

Harvey Knibbs impressed off the bench in Cambridge's win over Port Vale at the weekend, so the 23-year-old could now come into the starting XI for Friday's contest.

Head coach Bonner will need to assess the fitness of his players ahead of this match, but there are no fresh concerns at this stage, so it would not be a surprise to see largely the same side here.

Smith notched his seventh league goal of the campaign in Saturday's success, and the 25-year-old should retain his spot in the final third of the field for the home team.

As for Fleetwood, head coach Brown is likely to make a couple of changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Exeter last time out.

Corrie Ndaba and Daniel Batty could come into the starting side, but there will again be spots in the final third of the field for Jack Marriott and Jayden Stockley.

Marriott netted a brace in the draw with Exeter, while Stockley has scored twice in the league since arriving from Charlton Athletic at the start of February.

Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Mannion; R Bennett, L Bennett, Jones, Dunk; McGrandles, Digby; Brophy, Lankester, Knibbs; Smith

Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:
Lynch; Holgate, Sarpong-Wiredu, Earl; Rooney, Ndaba, Warrington, Vela, Batty; Marriott, Stockley

We say: Cambridge United 1-1 Fleetwood Town

Two of the last three meetings between these two sides have finished in draws, and we are predicting another stalemate on Friday afternoon. Cambridge were excellent against Port Vale last time out and will fancy their chances of avoiding defeat in front of their own supporters here.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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