The Shrimps are back on the road on Tuesday 7 March as they travel to the Abbey Stadium to face Cambridge United in Sky Bet League One.
Derek Adams' men will be looking to build on a good point on Saturday after a 0-0 draw against Bolton Wanderers at the Mazuma Stadium.
Tuesday night's opponents will be looking to impress on home soil on after a 1-0 home defeat to Portsmouth at the weekend.
The Opposition
United sit 23rd in League One with eight wins, five draws and 21 defeats after 34 games.
The U's were promoted to the EFL in 2014 and made quite the return in their first season, having reached the fourth round of the FA Cup and earned themselves a replay against Manchester United. The Yellows won promotion to League One in 2021 after a 3-0 win over Grimsby on the final day of the League Two season.
Head Coach Mark Bonner has been in charge at the Abbey Stadium since 2020. He joined the club in 2011 and worked in numerous roles within United’s academy. In 2018, he was named as a first team coach working under then manager Shaun Derry. Bonner took charge of the first team on an interim basis following Colin Calderwood’s departure in 2020 and, after four wins in his first four games, he was appointed head coach.
Key Players
Striker Sam Smith is United’s top scorer this season with seven goals and one assist. Since moving to Cambridge in 2021, Smith has scored 21 goals in 79 league appearances. The 24-year-old began his career at Reading in 2016, but only made eight appearances for the Royals as he was loaned out several times to Oxford United, Shrewsbury Town, Tranmere Rovers and Cheltenham Town. Smith also spent the 2019/20 season on loan at the Abbey Stadium, scoring seven goals in 28 appearances.
Joe Ironside has also been a danger man up top for United this season. The 29-year-old has spent the majority of his career in non-league with the likes of Halifax Town, Alfreton Town, Nuneaton Borough, and Kidderminster Harriers. Ironside joined The Yellows in 2020 following his departure from Macclesfield Town and since joining United, he’s made over 114 league appearances, scoring 34 goals.
Winger Shilow Tracey has made a positive impact form out wide for The U's, having scored one goal and provided three assists for The Yellows so far this season. Tracey was on the books at Tottenham between 2016 and 2021, and spent time out on loan at Macclesfield Town, Shrewsbury Town and Cambridge United before signing a permanent contract at the Abbey Stadium in 2021.
Mark Bonner’s Thoughts
Speaking to the Cambridge United YouTube channel, manager Mark Bonner admits he is expecting a difficult test on Tuesday night.
“They’re playing well at the moment,” he said.
“They’ve been very good at home and they’ve been strong in possession with lots of fluidity in midfield.
"We know players like Jensen (Weir) and Dan Crowley, who we’ve played against over the years, it gives them a quite technical team.
“They counter attack well and defend deep at times and they are hard to create chances against.”
Team News
Derek Adams has one or two illness and injury concerns ahead of the game on Tuesday with Michael Mellon remaining absent.
Meet The Officials
Paul Howard will be the man in the middle on Saturday and will be assisted by Paul Lister-Flynn, Michael Webb and fourth official Adrian Tranter.
Howard has taken charge of 16 games this season, ten in League Two, two in the Papa Johns Trophy, three in League One and one in the FA Cup.
The official last refereed Morecambe in September 2021, a 3-1 win for the Shrimps at Crewe.
Watch Live!
If you're not making the trip to the Abbey Stadium on Tuesday night, you can watch the action live with an Follow Shrimps' video match passes for just £10.
Click here for more information!