An Emirates FA Cup second round trip to Sky Bet League One side Accrington Stanley is on the line on Tuesday evening as Cheltenham Town welcome Ebbsfleet United to the Jonny-Rocks Stadium (kick-off 7.45pm).
The Robins and the Fleet go head-to-head once again in a first round replay after neither side could secure their place in the second round when the two clubs first met in Kent ten days ago.
National League Ebbsfleet will pose a tricky test for Michael Duff’s side who have hit an excellent run of form following the weekend’s superb away win at Notts County in Sky Bet League Two – a result that made it five unbeaten for the Robins as well as seeing a third consecutive clean sheet being recorded.
Tonight’s winners will travel to Accrington, who are currently 10th in League One in the second round, while there is also a £36,000 prize up for grabs.
Team news
Kevin Dawson, Sean Long and Johnny Mullins remain out of action for Tuesday’s game. Mullins is recovering from concussion sustained in the first meeting at the Kuflink Stadium but is edging back to full fitness.
Michael Duff addressed the media on Monday morning before Tuesday’s contest:
Opposition
Since the meeting at the Kuflink Stadium earlier in the month Tuesday’s opponents have been involved in one more game – another goalless draw at Boreham Wood on Saturday.
It was a result that leaves them 14th in the National League though with the recent appointment of experienced non-league manager Garry Hill they’ll be looking at pushing themselves up the league table. Last season they reached the National League play-offs but were knocked out by eventual promotion winners Tranmere Rovers.
Their squad is led from the front by experienced front man Danny Kedwell, while in wide areas they include the talented Luke Coulson and Corey Whitely. Defensively they rely on the likes of Kenny Clark, Dave Winfield and Malta international Sam Magri.
Experienced Football League winger Myles Weston provided a threat down the right-hand side in the last clash, though he’s expected to miss the replay as he was on international duty with Antigua & Barbuda for their CONCACAF Nations League qualifier with Martinique on Monday.
Ebou Adams may feature if he returns to the UK in time for Tuesday – the former Norwich City midfielder was part of the Gambia squad that secured an Africa Cup of Nations qualification win over Benin on Saturday.
Last time out
Far from a classic, when the two sides met in Kent on Saturday 10 November neither side could find the back of the net in a contest that ended goalless at the Kuflink Stadium in front of a crowd of 1,624.
Ben Tozer’s second half header was the closest the Robins came to finding the back of the net, while Ebbsfleet did go close through Corey Whitely who produced a couple of efforts, one of which forced Scott Flinders into a good low save. Danny Kedwell also saw a headed effort drop wide.
The Robins started the game with a 3-5-2 formation but were made to go into a 4-3-3 shape midway through the first half when skipper Johnny Mullins went off injured after a bang to the head.
EUFC team: N Ashmore, S Magri, D Winfield, K Clark, C Bush, E Adams (J King 60), J Payne, M Weston (L Wilson 89), L Coulson (D McQueen 79), C Whitely, D Kedwell
Subs not used: J Miles, M Cheek, S Shields, B Graham
CTFC team: S Flinders, J Forster, J Mullins (T Barnett 22), B Tozer, R Broom, C Hussey, C Clements, C Thomas (N Atagana 84), J Maddox, L Varney, K Mooney (A Addai 50)
Subs not used: Lovett, McAlinden, Field
Referee: John Busby
Tickets
Prices have been reduced in all areas of the stadium for Tuesday’s game. Tickets are available to purchase on the night at £12 for adults and £6 for concessions.
Coverage
Follow live updates on Twitter by following @CTFCofficial. You can also catch goal and half time updates on Facebook at facebook.com/ctfcofficial. Visit the club website after the game for full reaction to the result.
Listen to live commentary from the Jonny-Rocks Stadium on iFollow at ctfc.com/ifollow.