Ipswich Town head to Cambridge United today looking for a third straight win in all competitions. MIKE BACON takes a look at Town's opponents.
AS IT STANDS...
Cambridge United were promoted to League One last season after finishing a point ahead of Bolton Wanderers and two behind champions Cheltenham.
It was a terrific campaign for the club and boss Mark Bonner was rewarded with a three-year contract as the U's headed back into League One for the first time in seven seasons.
And it's been a decent start to the season for Cambridge, who are currently on a run of just one defeat in five matches in all competitions. Their best result so far was a 1-2 victory at Portsmouth last month. They also drew at current league leaders Plymouth earlier in the season.
Last time out, two goals in the final 12 minutes saw Cambridge grab a point at Crewe.
Despite losing hot-shot striker Paul Mullin in the summer, the winner of last season's League Two Golden boot with 32 goals, to Wrexham, Cambridge have not found goals that hard to come by.
And included in their squad is of course Jack Lankester, the former Town youngster, who joined the U's in the summer, although he is a doubt today.
They currently sit in 16th place in the table, on the same points as Town, but they've played a game less.
MARK BONNER
Cambridge boss Mark Bonner is Cambridge through and through.
Still only 35, he joined the Club's academy 10 years ago working in various positions, before being handed a first-team coaching job in 2018.
After a couple of caretaker stints helping the U's cope with the departure of managers, Joe Dunne and then Colin Calderwood, Bonner was named permanent head coach in March 2020. He and Cambridge have not looked back.
Last season Bonner won two League Two manager of the month awards, as well as guiding the U's to promotion.
His win ration at the Abbey Stadium is impressive. In 75 games so far, both as caretaker and full boss, he has an almost 50% win ratio.
THE ABBEY STADIUM
The Abbey Stadium has been the home of Cambridge United since 1932, and currently has a maximum capacity of just over 8,000.
The first match ever played at the Abbey was a friendly against a team from Cambridge University Press on 31 August 1932. The record attendance at the ground (14,000) was also for a friendly, against Chelsea to mark the first use of the ground's new floodlights on 1 May 1970.
Until recent times, the Abbey Stadium was the only Football League ground to be called a 'stadium', and was second only to Wembley Stadium in so being named.
HEAD TO HEAD
Cambridge United and Ipswich Town have only met five times in all competitions, and it's honours even, with two wins for Town, two for Cambridge and one draw.
The last time they met was in 1993 at the Abbey in the League Cup. Town won 2-0.
However, one of the most significant results between the two sides occurred in November 1991, with John Lyall's Town gunning for promotion to what was set to be the newly-formed Premiership.
That day, the U's inflicted a damaging 1-2 defeat on Town at Portman Road. In the return at the Abbey it ended 1-1.
However, it all ended well for the Blues who won the title by four points ahead of Middlesbrough. A good Cambridge side finished fifth that season, but lost in the play-offs.
WHAT THE BOOKIES SAY
Town's recent run of victories sees them start favourites at the Abbey, but it is set to be a close one, you suspect.
TOWN WIN: 11/10: U'S WIN: 12/5: THE DRAW: 12/5
DID YOU KNOW?
Famed for it's plethora of wonderful universities, Cambridge has seen many famous faces graduate from them.
A brief spiral through history has seen Oliver Cromwell, Lord Byron, Stephen Hawking, Sir David Attenborough, Carol Vordemon, Prince Charles and Sacha Baron Cohen aka 'Ali G' and 'Borat', who studied history at Christ's College, all graduate in the city.
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