Keeping Up With...The U's

...and will be hoping other results go their way as they still seek to finish in the automatic promotion places.

In Shaun Derry’s side they face a club who routed Morecambe 7-0 in their last home game at the Abbey Stadium. United also have feint hopes of reaching the play-offs following Wimbledon’s 1-0 defeat to Portsmouth on Tuesday night. This meant that if Cambridge were to win their next two, against Argyle and Mansfield, while the Dons lost both of theirs then Cambridge would steal the final play-off position.

If the 7-0 scoreline was not daunting enough, Derry’s side also have not conceded in four games at home, since a 1-0 loss to our Devon neighbours Exeter City on March 5. Despite this, Pilgrims fans will take solace in two of those four unbeaten games have been 0-0 draws, with Carlisle and Oxford.

The U’s beat struggling Notts County last weekend as Luke Berry scored his 12th of the season after just four minutes. Haydn Hollis replied for Notts shortly before the break as he met a Liam Noble free-kick to level the scores. Forward Ben Williamson then got his 11th of the season following a goalmouth scramble to get Derry a win on a return to his former side. Noble then saw red with 10 minutes remaining as Cambridge held on for three points.

Whilst lacking in particular any consistent goalscorer, the U’s frontline has certainly shared the goals amongst themselves this season with Berry, Williamson and Barry Corr notching 35 of Cambridge’s 64 goals between them. The Greens backline will have to be very wary of the trio this weekend. Williamson has already played against Argyle twice this season, being on the winning side twice, for Gillingham in the Capital One Cup and also the U’s league win earlier in the season with both games finishing 2-1.

Argyle’s league form against Saturday’s hosts makes grim reading with just five league wins to Cambridge’s nine along with five draws. The Devon side have lost their previous two at the Abbey Stadium by a 1-0 scoreline and have only won once in their previous five meetings. That win was the 2-0 win at Home Park in February 2014 as goals from Ryan Brunt and Lewi Alessandra in the final 10 minutes wrapped up all three points.

Earlier in the season Cambridge came out 2-1 winners at Home Park as Gregg Wylde’s 73rd minute effort cancelled out Ben Williamson’s strike before Luke Berry fired in a late 86th minute winner for the visitors.