By Joe Jones
Head to head & stats
Notts County and Cambridge United have met 28 times in their history.
The first meeting came on Boxing Day 1970 at Meadow Lane, with the Magpies earning a 4-1 win.
Notts hold the advantage in the head to head, with 11 wins, 8 draws and 9 defeats against the U’s.
Recent form is not good, however - we've lost four and drawn two of our last six meetings against Cambridge.
The Magpies have won just once in their last eight league visits to Cambridge, losing three and drawing four.
Uche Ikpeazu has both scored and assisted two goals in his three League Two appearances against Notts County for Cambridge.
The Magpies have won just one of their last 11 away league games, last triumphing on the road with a 4-1 win at Morecambe.
History
The club was founded in 1912 as Abbey United before taking the name Cambridge United in 1951.
It first competed in the Football League in 1970 and stayed there until relegation in 2005, nine seasons in the Conference following until climbing back out of non-league.
Cambridge have had two spells in the league's second tier, and reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup twice and Football League Cup once during the early 1990s, the club's most successful era to date.
United's highest ever finishing place in the Football League is fifth in the Second Division during the 1991–92 season, competing in a season-ending four team playoff for the final promotion slot to the Premier League's inaugural season.
The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Newmarket Road, approximately 1.86 miles east of Cambridge city centre. The stadium has a capacity of 8,127, made up of terracing and seated areas.
During their days in Division Two, with John Beck at the helm in the 1980's, the club earned a reputation for bizarre training methods and "dirty tricks" to make their opponents feel ill at ease.
These included freezing cold showers for his own players, dirty changing rooms and deflated kick-about balls for the opposition and long grass in the corners of the pitch to slow the long balls into those areas, allowing the U’s forwards to reach them.
Beck carried on his dirty tricks even after leaving to take charge of Preston North End – taking nine of the Cambridge United players with him.
He was not the only famous manager at the club, with Ron Atkinson taking the club from Fourth to Second division and Ex-England and Derby County centre-half Roy McFarland also sitting in the hot seat.
Before their entry into the League, a local animal sanctuary had an escapee and it was found grazing on the pitch at the Abbey Stadium.
This lead to the moose connection with the club, and in the club shop you can buy a range of moose souvenirs to show your allegiance to the U’s.
Famous alumni include Dion Dublin and Luke Chadwick, while famous fans include football commentator Gary Newbon and Tom Findlay of Groove Armada.
Former Notts manager Shaun Derry was at the helm of the U’s until just 10 days ago, when he was dismissed by the club.
Team news
Cambridge will be without striker Barry Corr and midfielder George Maris, as the former was injured in the win over Grimsby Town, while the latter will miss out due to head injury protocol.
Interim boss Joe Dunne was however boosted with the news that Jabo Ibehre, Leon Legge and Piero Mingoia all resume full training on Monday.
For Notts, Shaun Brisley has returned to training following a bout of illness but faces a battle to dislodge 21-year-old Brighton loanee Ben Hall, who has impressed in his absence.
Midfielder Michael O'Connor has joined in training again as he continues his recovery from the serious knee injury he suffered last April.
On-loan forward Mason Bennett has undergone a hamstring operation that means he will play no further part this season.
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