Cheltenham Town are back on home soil this evening (Tuesday) as we welcome Grimsby Town to the LCI Rail Stadium in Sky Bet League Two.
The Robins will be looking to bounce back from defeat at Port Vale last weekend and continue a fine home record of late that has seen three successive league victories over Colchester United, Mansfield Town and Swindon Town.
Cheltenham have also not lost in the last five meetings with Grimsby, the most recent a 2-1 win at the LCI Rail Stadium in April.
Grimsby are just one place above Cheltenham in the league standings and have lost just once in their last six games, drawing 0-0 at home to Crawley Town on Saturday.
The Opposition:
Grimsby manager Russell Slade says he is well aware of the threat that the Robins will pose on Tuesday night as he looks for his team to build on a 0-0 draw with Crawley at the weekend.
“I will be looking for all eleven of our players – from the keeper to the centre forward to put us on the front foot. You’re not going to go to the likes of Cheltenham with three or four players missing, you are going to need everybody on task,” he said.
“Gary Johnson will have them organised. Before Saturday they had been on an excellent run of form – I think there was three straight wins or something like that. He will be looking to put that right.
“We know how they are going to start, there will be no respite, big intensity from his team. It couldn’t be tougher really, but we’ve got to be up for that challenge and we will be up for that challenge.”
Team News:
Cheltenham team news: Manager Gary Johnson will wait to see if midfielder Kyle Storer is fit to feature after coming off at half-time against Port Vale. Kevin Dawson could push for a start after a goalscoring comeback at Vale Park. Jaanai Gordon and Jordon Forster remain long-term injury casualties, with Gordon going under the knife on game day to cure a knee injury.
Grimsby team news: Ben Davies (ankle) and Karleigh Osborne (hamstring) both face late fitness tests. However, Russell Slade has improved his options by signing another defender, Reece Hall-Johnson, who has been training with the Mariners since the start of the season. Dtriker Akwasi Asante will not figure after rejoining former club Solihull Moors on loan until January.
The man in the middle:
Referee Graham Salisbury – who has handed out 66 yellow cards and four red cards in 15 league and cup games this season - will take charge of the league clash at the LCI. He will be assisted by Nigel Smith, Sam Lewis and fourth official Andrew Fox.
Last time we met:
17/04/17 – Cheltenham 2-1 Grimsby Town (L2)
22/09/16 – Grimsby Town 0-1 Cheltenham (L2)
01/04/16 – Cheltenham 3-1 Grimsby Town (NL)
30/10/15 – Grimsby Town 0-1 Cheltenham (NL)
16/01/15 – Grimsby Town 0-0 Cheltenham (L2)
Ticket Information:
Fans will be able to buy tickets in person from the Ticket Office between 10am and 3pm. The Ticket Office will re-open ahead of the game at 5pm.
You can also buy online by clicking HERE until Tuesday afternoon at 4pm.
The Ticket Office will be open for collections from 10am and limited seating will also be available for fans wishing to pay by card on the night.
All remaining seats will be available for cash purchasers on the night from the turnstiles from 6.30pm.
As always, fans collecting pre-paid tickets are asked to arrive early to avoid any queues and to enable easy access into the stadium.