Northampton v Cheltenham preview

admin

Marc Richards is available for Northampton after making his comeback in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Oxford.

The striker had been out with an Achilles problem which had sidelined him since the start of March.

Suspended duo Ryan Cresswell and Jason Taylor are still banned for the Cobblers but will be available after the weekend.

Northampton could see their slim play-off hopes ended at the weekend as they sit seven points adrift of the top seven with three games left.

Gary Johnson has plenty of injury absentees ahead of Saturday’s reunion with his former club.

The Robins kept their survival hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Cambridge on Tuesday night but the ex-Cobbler looks set to be without full-back Lee Vaughan who is unlikely to overcome his hamstring problem so Durrell Berry will continue in the side.

Bristol City loanee Wes Burns (ankle) remains on the treatment table along with Asa Hall, (Achilles) Jordan Wynter (knee) and Kane Ferdinand (cheek) while this match comes too soon for centre-back Will Packwood (hamstring).

But Joe Hanks should be given the green light to feature having overcome his illness.

Breaking news, transfer gossip, line ups and goal alerts from your football club – delivered direct to your mobile. Sign up for Sky Sports Alerts

Northampton v Cheltenham preview

admin

Cobblers boss Aidy Boothroyd is without seven players this weekend.

Right-back Kevin Amankwaah is the latest injury victim, having been ruled out for a month with a hamstring problem picked up during the defeat to Rochdale in midweek.

He joins Matt Heath (thigh), Clive Platt (calf), Roy O’Donovan (ankle), Kelvin Langmead (knee), Lewis Hornby (back) and Alex Nicholls (broken leg) on the sidelines.

The Cobblers are looking to end a run of five games without a win at Sixfields and climb out of the League Two relegation zone for the first time in over a month.

Cheltenham are set to be without two players as they travel to Northampton looking to record back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

Craig Braham-Barrett missed the 3-0 win over Morecambe in midweek with a facial injury and the left-back will be assessed but manager Mark Yates does not think the former Macclesfield man will be available.

Ashley Vincent was missing on Tuesday due to a family emergency so youth product Harry Williams could be named in the matchday squad again.

Rotherham loanee David Noble is set to keep his place in the starting line-up after an impressive performance on his return to the side.

Northampton v Cheltenham preview

admin

The hosts are boosted by the return to fitness of Kelvin Langmead, Clive Platt and Ishmel Demontagnac, but Joe Widdowson’s knee injury means the defender remains a doubt.

Captain and centre-half Langmead (knee), striker Platt (calf) and midfielder Demontagnac (hamstring) have all been absent in recent weeks but they resumed training on Tuesday to put themselves in the frame for selection against the Robins.

Leading goalscorer Adebayo Akinfenwa and key midfielder Chris Hackett are strong contenders to return to the starting line-up having been rested for recent matches.

Alex Nicholls is the only player who is definitely not available as the striker continues to recover from a broken leg.

The visitors boast an unchanged squad, with defender Harry Hooman, who last featured in October, Town’s only absentee after an infection halted his return from a long-term foot injury.

Otherwise, manager Mark Yates boasts the same squad who finished the regular League Two season with last Saturday’s goalless draw against Bradford.

Striker Paul Benson made his return from an ankle ligament strain as a second-half substitute against the Bantams and is again in contention for involvement on Thursday.

Ahead of the game, Yates told reporters: “I’m not too keen on telling people my team but we’ll pick the team we think that’s right to go down to Northampton.

“It’s going to be a really tough place. It’s going to be a physical bombardment and a battle from their set-pieces, which are a fantastic weapon for them.

“We’ve got to deal with them. We’ve got to play our way and we’ll have to deal with crowd. They’ll have a big, noisy crowd behind them. I’ve been there when it’s been a decent following there and they really get behind the team.

“So we need our supporters and we need the players to embrace the situation, embrace the challenge and really have a go at it.”

Northampton v Cheltenham preview

admin

Northampton are waiting to hear from the Football Association regarding the availability of experienced defender Clarke Carlisle.

Carlisle, who was sent off for two bookable offences against Oxford, missed Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat to Leyton Orient in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, but he could not have taken part regardless of his suspension since he was cup-tied.

Chris Hackett, Adebayo Akinfenwa and Lewis Hornby are all pushing for a start after being on the bench in midweek.

Manager Aidy Boothroyd has no new injury or suspension concerns and with plenty of options available to him, he may shuffle his pack.

Defensive duo David Artell and John Johnson will be missing until the new year, while striker Alex Nicholls faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious leg injury.

Cheltenham’s joint-top goalscorer Chris Zebroski is set to return after a bug ruled him out of Monday’s 1-1 draw with Hereford in the FA Cup.

The former Torquay attacker had a bout of sickness and manager Mark Yates considered including the 26-year-old against the Bulls but decided against it although he remains confident he’ll be fine for Saturday’s clash.

Meanwhile defender Sido Jombati was an unused substitute against Hereford having recovered from his hernia operation that has ruled him out since November 10.

Jombati, along with Reading loanee Lawson D’Ath, came through a midweek reserve game unscathed and are ready to feature against the Cobblers as Cheltenham look to close the six-point gap on League Two leaders Gillingham.

Northampton v Cheltenham preview

admin

Northampton boss Gary Johnson will delay naming his Cobblers side.

Town are nursing a few knocks following the midweek defeat to Bristol Rovers, with midfielder Paul Turnbull amongst those players who are doubts.

However, Adebayo Akinfenwa and Lewis Young might have played their way into Johnson’s plans following their displays from the bench at the Memorial Stadium.

“We have got a few knocks but we have got enough in the squad to recover from the defeat at Bristol Rovers,” said Johnson.

“Bayo and Lewis Young have given themselves a chance of starting on Saturday but we need to see how the knocks recover. Paul Turnbull took a kick on the knee cap inside the first five minutes. He tried to run it off but he had to come off in the end. However, it is not too serious and hopefully he should be okay.”

Johnson hinted at changes to the side following the defeat on Tuesday night, adding: “A few more of the lads were disappointed after Tuesday and we need to make sure we have a group of winners out on the pitch on Saturday.”

Cheltenham manager Mark Yates has no fresh injury concerns and is likely to name an unchanged side from the one that was beaten 2-1 at home to Morecambe in midweek.

Andy Gallinagh will again miss out because of injury.

The 26-year-old defender is making good progress following his calf injury but is still thought to be roughly a week away from competitive action.

Striker Jimmy Spencer will also be absent once more.

The 19-year-old, who is on loan at the Abbey Business Stadium from Huddersfield, is serving the second game of his three-match suspension after he was red carded in last Saturday’s derby victory against Swindon for elbowing Aden Flint.

Northampton v Cheltenham preview

admin

Northampton manager Ian Sampson is waiting on two of his key attacking threats ahead of the visit of in-form Cheltenham.

Striker Leon McKenzie remains a doubt with the thigh injury which forced him to miss the win over Lincoln on Monday while midfielder Kevin Thornton is struggling with a mystery illness.

Sampson said: “We might have to make a late decision on Leon but Kevin Thornton is very doubtful.

“Kevin has been down the hospital having blood tests and he’s struggling for Saturday. He went down ill on New Year’s Eve and initially we thought he just had the flu but now we’re not too sure what it is.”

Ryan Gilligan is back in contention after his recovery from a bout of pneumonia and fellow midfielder Abdul Osman will make his 100th appearance for the club.

Leicester striker Craig King is available for the final game of his loan spell while Newcastle defender Ben Tozer can continue after extending his deal until the end of the season. Ryan Jarvis is back at Leyton Orient after his month with the Cobblers came to an end but defender Craig Hinton could feature after returning from his loan at Luton.

Cheltenham will have new signings Phil Walsh and Ashley Eastham available.

Both striker Walsh and centre-back Eastham agreed one-month loan deals from Dagenham & Redbridge and Blackpool respectively on Thursday afternoon and go straight into Mark Yates’ squad for the Sixfields clash.

Eastham’s arrival coincides with the loss of central defender Martin Riley for three to four weeks with the hamstring injury he sustained during Monday’s 2-1 win at Southend.

Eastham will now compete with Andy Gallinagh to line-up alongside Steve Elliott at the heart of Town’s defence.

Winger Josh Low (hamstring) has been missing for three-and-a-half weeks and is rated as 50/50, with a fitness test likely to decide his involvement this weekend.