Cambridge United and Northampton Town meet this Saturday in League One with the home side looking to edge closer to the top half of the table and give fans at the Abbey Stadium hopes of avoiding relegation.
Garry Monk will take charge of Cambridge United for this first game in charge of the U's after Neil Harris left the helm. The former Sheffield Wednesday man will need all his efforts and experience as a head coach from now until the end of the season with Cambridge now sitting down in 19th after another defeat put the club on a four-game losing run.
They lost to Bolton Wanderers on the road last time out after also suffering an away defeat to Stevenage before that. Cambridge also suffered a loss at home to Peterborough before that and another defeat at the hands of Bolton before that. The U's last win was away to last-placed Carlisle United midway through February, which did no doubt give the club a bit of hope in terms of surviving this season - Sully Kaikai, Elias Kachunga and Ryan Bennett all scored a goal each that day.
However, things have got much worse for Cambridge, and with Harris now gone, Monk sees his side sitting only six clear of the bottom three. The club have won 10 times this season and the recent defeat to Bolton saw them lose for the 17th time in League One. Worse yet, Monk has seen his new team score just 31 times this season with 44 let in too.
Northampton continue to slump in the middle of the table after a push towards the top six playoff spots at the start of the season. Nevertheless, with 14 wins on the board, they do sit in 12th, in the top half of the table and way clear of relegation.
Despite this run, they were smashed by Peterborough last time out after Jon Guthrie gave his side the lead after nine minutes. This did end a run of four games without a loss for the Cobblers, as they managed to edge past Bristol Rovers 3-1, draw with Oxford United, beat Burton Albion 2-0 on the road and also draw at home with Charlton Athletic.
In reality, a spot in the playoff seems unlikely for Northampton, as they are now behind Stevenage in sixth by 11 points, but this, of course, doesn't make it mathematically impossible at all.
