Game 46 - The U's (A)
Team - Colchester United
Date - 25/04/2026 14:00
Where - Colchester Community Stadium

What would your starting line-up be? What will be the key areas for the Magpies to get a victory? What do you think the final score will be?

Have your say below, join in with the Pride of Nottingham match discussion.

Can we put together a good performance on the back of the slump we have experienced? If more players can try harder, some pull more weight and if selected senior players stop moaning at others and telling them what to do. I think we could do well, we have to play as a team and focus more on attacking.

We massively miss Nick Tsaroulla and the right side is a bit of a concern to me.

I like Lucas Ness, I think on his day he can be solid but whilst I prefer Lewis Macari. I don't think Rod McDonald and Ness have the same type of understanding as others. Ness got a fair bit of criticism against Barnet. Though, I am more concerned about McDonald. He's a very, very good defender but much better with others around him.

I'm a bit more optimistic about this one than I was before Barnet. Wasn't a 1-2 defeat the most predicable result ever? As I wrote on that thread, all I wanted was to stop them winning - a draw, even if it damaged our auto chances. I just want to see us stop giving teams what they want.

Colchester are a mid-table team with nothing to play for. But is this team the same as Maynard's? - One that just refuses to rise to the occasion? We'll see tomorrow.

About the defence....I wouldn't mind unchanged to start this away game.

And even Macari at RWB if Tsaroulla isn't fit. Then if we need to press after HT, everyone move over one Macari-Ness-McDonald. We have to recognise that Bedeau hasn't contributed anything going forward all season.

Edited yesterday at 00:431 day by theAnticlough

Is Jatta back in contention for this one? I hope so and I hope he’s got his scoring boots on, we desperately need a win if only for the players confidence. Let’s hope the Colchester players have one foot on the beach.

With Salford winning last night, the automatics are now completely out of our hands. All we can do is win and hope others slip up. Personally I've written off automatic promotion, but I hope the team don't. A good performance and a win would really lift us after the last couple of weeks, and would all but guarantee a play-off spot at least.

I hope and expect that Jatta is back for this one. I'll miss it because I'm abandoning my armchair for a real-life football stadium tomorrow, so it'll probably go superbly well since I won't be watching. Prediction: Colchester 0 Notts 7 (Ness (5), Jatta, Belshaw).

It’s Match Day, I’ll be sitting in the garden listening to radio Nottingham with a beer in the sunshine. Safe travels to our fans who are going to the match. It would be nice to get a score line like our neighbours across the Trent did last night.

COME ON YOU PIES!

Tbh I'm still sore about last Saturday.

I could forgive Cambridge - running into a very good team with a depleted squad, especially key defenders. But not the Barnet game - just so sick of losing games like that.

Colchester away last season was around Game 41 or 42...and was another shocking perfromance in a crunch game (I think that was when autos slipped away). The way we went down so tamely was a real foreshadowing of the play-offs.

Let's see if there's more determination to get something today.

I think it's become more difficult for MP to pick the team . Attacking midfield has been a disaster all season, so it's amazing that it's got even worse! A lot of the squad are now unplayable - given so many chances, but they go further backwards if anything

The players picked today need to take full personal responsibility for putting in a good performance.

The penultimate game of the regular league 2 season sees Notts visit the Community Stadium Colchester to meet a Colchester team that currently stands in 13th place on 63 points.

In their last five games Colchester have won 3 & lost 2. In their last 10 games they have won 4, drawn 2 & lost 4, scoring 10 goals & conceding 9, earning 14 points from a possible 30.

So Colchester's form lately has been mixed so Notts will be looking to get the win that they need to help keep them in the mix for automatic promotion & go a long way to confirming their place in the end of season playoffs.

Colchester have a good record against Notts having won 3 of the 5 games they have played against each other since Notts return to League 2.

A win for Notts is possible but Notts will have to play at their absolute best. Other teams around Notts have been dropping points. Notts have to take advantage of that today.

Notts side to play Colchester.

That might work! Some pleasant surprises there.