A place in the final round of 32 of this year’s Checkatrade Trophy is at stake this evening as Cheltenham Town welcome Coventry City to the Jonny-Rocks Stadium (7.45pm kick-off).
Sky Bet League One Coventry are the visitors for a match that if Michael Duff’s side can win outright in the 90 minutes, or win on penalties after a draw, would see the club progress through the group stages into the next round of the competition.
An eye-catching 6-2 win over Arsenal under-21s last time out in the group has handed the Robins an exciting opportunity to progress this evening.
Following the weekend’s Emirates FA Cup first round draw at Ebbsfleet United, Cheltenham can make it four games unbeaten with a positive result against the Sky Blues.
Team news
Sean Long and Kevin Dawson are unavailable through injury as well as Bristol City loanee Aden Baldwin.
Captain Johnny Mullins was forced off on Saturday and is unlikely to feature.
Both Chris Hussey and Conor Thomas could feature against their former club. Hussey had a loan and a permanent spell with Coventry, while Thomas started his career with the Sky Blues.
Opposition
Since gaining promotion to League One via the League Two play-offs last season Coventry have enjoyed an impressive return to the third tier. They sit 8th in the division and are joint on points with Charlton Athletic, who currently occupy the last play-off spot.
They are led by boss Mark Robins. The former Manchester United and Norwich City striker is in his second stint in charge and has also managed the likes of Barnsley, Huddersfield and Scunthorpe United.
He directs a squad that features 19-year-old Cheltenham youth product Luke Thomas who is on loan from Derby County.
Their squad also features former Sheffield United midfield man Michael Doyle, one-time Man City youngster Jordy Hiwula and 24-year-old attacker Jonson Clarke-Harris, who alongside Thomas netted in their FA Cup loss at Walsall on the weekend.
Previous meetings
The two clubs came head-to-head in Sky Bet League Two last season with the Sky Blues coming out on top on both occasions.
Mo Eisa’s first half goal wasn’t enough to help Cheltenham to any share of the spoils at the Ricoh Arena as Tom Bayliss and Marc McNulty’s goals earned Coventry a 2-1 win.
Meanwhile it was an afternoon to forget for the Robins towards the back end of the season when the two sides met again at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium. Eisa was on the scoresheet again however Coventry netted six times to keep their promotion dreams alive – and they would go onto gain promotion to League One at Wembley a few weeks later.
Ticket information
Prices for the game have been reduced to only £5 for adults and £3 for concessions (over-65s, under-18s and students).
There is unreserved seating in all areas on the night in either the Autovillage or Hazelwoods Stands, as well as standing in the Paddock. The Coventry fans will be housed in The Colin Farmer Stand.
You can purchase tickets online as well as tickets for future Cheltenham fixtures online here.
Coverage
Stay up to date on Twitter by following @CTFCofficial for team news and updates throughout this evening’s clash. Keep an eye on updates on Facebook too and you can check out full reaction to the game here on the club website after the full time whistle.