Christmas is often a time for welcoming people into our home – even if we can’t pretend to like them all that much. This festive period sees us throw open the doors to our humble abode after the fixture computer invited Cambridge United to spend some time with us. We assume we are using our second best crockery and insisting they take their shoes off before coming in.
It feels like there hasn’t been much time to reflect on some true Christmas miracles – an away win and back-to-back victories haven’t exactly been commonplace in 2014, but better late than never you’d have to concede. And now we’re gunning for a third win on the bounce; is that too much to ask of Father Christmas before he goes into hibernation for another 11 months?
Cambridge, then. Much like the visit of a difficult mother-in-law, this is a Christmas necessity. The omens are good, however. We’ve won four of the last five against them – even if it has been nearly five years to the day since we last met. The last time the Us came to town, we gave them a proper hiding and we’re hoping that we can extend the very same courtesy to them again.
If the league was decided on home form alone, we’ll have just crept into the top six – four wins in the last six on our own patch. But the Us away form isn’t too shabby, with two wins and two draws from their last six on their travels. We haven’t failed to score at home this season, while Cambridge have managed to bag a goal on their last three away trips. Goals are in store then.
The FIFA elves are yet to ditch the 3-5-2 formation we took with us to South Wales, but we’ve been able to improvise for the virtual verdict this time around. We had the running of this one but it did seem as if a goalless draw was on the cards. Dean Parrett’s introduction, however, is the definition of inspiration – it was he who popped up with the winner on 82 minutes…
And what of the bookmakers’ verdict for this one? The 7/5 you can get at time of writing on a home win could well prove a tempting punt for one or three of you, while 23/10 (BetVictor) is probably one to consider too. Both Teams To Score at evens and Over 2.5 Goals at 5/4 could also be too good to turn down. Darius Charles is a 5/2 anytime goalscorer.
Cambridge United – come on down!
