Preview: Burton Albion vs. Cambridge United - prediction, team news, lineups

Cambridge United will be looking for a victory that would see them leapfrog Burton Albion in the League One table when they travel to the Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts have won just once in their last five league games, while the U's are winless in their previous five matches in all competitions.

Match preview

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After losing their last two fixtures, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink will be looking for a positive response from his side on Saturday.

The Brewers suffered a 2-0 defeat at home against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend before losing 2-1 to Portsmouth in midweek.

On Tuesday, goals from Sean Raggett and Michael Jacobs gave Pompey a two-goal cushion at half time, and though Gassan Ahadme pulled one back against his former side just five minutes after the restart, the Brewers were unable to find an equaliser.

Burton will return to home comforts on Saturday, but one point from their previous three home league games suggests that Hasselbaink's men will require an improvement in performance if they are to pick up the three points at the weekend.

Hasselbaink will hope that his troops can get their nose in front against Cambridge, with the Brewers yet to lose after leading in League One this season.

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As for Cambridge, they also enter Saturday's contest off the back of consecutive defeats, leaving them two points adrift of Burton ahead of the weekend's round of matches.

The fixture list has not been kind to the U's, with Mark Bonner's side set to play their fourth successive away league game on Saturday.

In their most recent away match, Cambridge made the trip to the Priestfield Stadium to face Gillingham and for the most part, the contest looked destined to finish level, but a Vadaine Oliver effort in the 86th minute condemned the visitors to a 1-0 defeat.

As well as the result, Bonner will be disappointed that his side failed to trouble the scorers for a third consecutive match in all competitions.

With the U's struggling for confidence, Bonner will hope that his side draw inspiration from the comfortable 3-0 victory that they picked up against Burton in the reverse fixture in August.

Team News

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John Brayford, Sam Hughes and Adedeji Oshilaja all missed Burton's trip to Fratton Park on Tuesday and the trio remain a doubt for Saturday's contest.

Ryan Leak returned from injury to play the full 90 minutes against Portsmouth, and he will feature in the back three at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Ahadme will continue to lead the line after scoring his first goal for the Brewers on Tuesday.

Cambridge have a number of injury concerns ahead of Saturday's fixture, with Jack Iredale, Lloyd Jones Shilow Tracey, Jensen Weir and Joe Ironside all expected to miss the trip to the Pirelli Stadium.

Despite losing in midweek, Bonner is expected to name an unchanged lineup with the Cambridge boss low on options.

Sam Sherring has started the last two games, and he will partner Jubril Okedina in the centre of defence.

Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Garratt; Shaughnessy, Leak, Borthwick-Jackson; Hamer, Mancienne, Taylor, Kokolo; Chapman, Powell, Ahadme

Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Williams, Okedina, Sherring, Dunk; Digby, O'Neil, May; Knibbs, Brophy, Smith

We say: Burton Albion 1-1 Cambridge United

Confidence is at a premium for both sides, and with the teams separated by just two points in the league table, we think that they may cancel each other out, resulting in the encounter ending all square.

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