Cheltenham Town and Notts County lock horns in a 22nd against 23rd Sky Bet League Two clash at Meadow Lane on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
After back-to-back cup action in the Emirates FA Cup and Checkatrade Trophy, Michael Duff’s side return to league action on the back of a four match unbeaten run for a huge contest this weekend.
Tuesday’s Checkatrade win over Coventry City was the latest in a run of positive results, and the Robins head to Nottingham aiming to extend that run with a positive result against a Notts side currently without a manager after the departure of Harry Kewell earlier this week.
Victory would be enough to move Cheltenham out of the League Two drop zone ahead of Saturday’s opponents on goal difference.
Team news
Chris Clements is available again after missing Tuesday’s Checkatrade Trophy win through suspension, though Kevin Dawson and Sean Long both remain out with injuries.
Front man Luke Varney is also expected to be available after missing the midweek win.
Watch what Duff had to say before this weekend’s encounter here.
Aston Villa loan youngster Kelsey Mooney also spoke to the media ahead of the trip. Watch what he had to say here.
Opposition
Notts County are on the lookout for another manager following the departure of Harry Kewell this week, who originally replaced Kevin Nolan in the early part of the season. Steve Chettle is in caretaker charge and led them to a 4-2 Checkatrade Trophy win on Wednesday over Doncaster Rovers.
They went out of the Emirates FA Cup last weekend losing 4-0 at League One Barnsley and haven’t won a league game since an early October trip to bottom of the table Macclesfield. Their last home win was a midweek 2 October victory over Crawley.
Their squad features a number of experienced heads including Wales international duo David Vaughan and Richard Duffy, while former Sunderland forward Jon Stead also lines up in their colours.
This weekend Kristian Dennis, Terry Hawkridge and Dutchman Enzio Boldewijn will provide a threat the Robins will need to counter against, while ex-Oxford United attacker Kane Hemmings carries a goal threat though has been missing recently with a fitness problem.
Previous meetings
March 2018 at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium was the last time the two teams came head-to-head and the clash ended in a 1-1 draw. Joe Morrell scored a second half leveller against a side that at that point were pushing for automatic promotion into League One.
That draw ended a run of four straight defeats against Saturday’s opponents. The last time Cheltenham claimed three points over Notts was the 2005-06 campaign when the Robins, under the management of John Ward, earned a 2-0 home victory thanks to goals from Steve Guinan and Ashley Vincent.
Cheltenham did the double over them that season. The visit to Meadow Lane earlier in the campaign, ended in a 3-2 win with Brian Wilson, Jamie Victory and Grant McCann finding the net back of the net.
Information for travelling supporters
Travelling supporters will be located in the Jimmy Sirrel Stand on Saturday.
Just under 200 tickets have already been sold to Cheltenham fans, and tickets will also be available to purchase on the turnstiles on the day if you want to join the army of fans making the journey to Nottingham.
The supporters’ coach travelling to the game leaves the Jonny-Rocks Stadium at 11am for fans who have booked to travel.
If you are travelling by car then parking is available at three locations nearby to the stadium for a small fee. The postcode for Meadow Lane is NG2 3HJ.
Coverage
Stay up to date with everything at Meadow Lane on social media by following @CTFCofficial on Twitter and on Facebook by visiting facebook.com/ctfcofficial. There will also be full reaction to the match available to view on the club website.
Listen to live commentary by visiting ctfc.com/ifollow.