Notts County face Cheltenham Town on Saturday in an important match at the bottom end of the Sky Bet League Two table.
The Magpies would move six points clear of the relegation places with a win at Meadow Lane but could be sucked back into the drop zone if the visitors leave victorious.
Steve Chettle will continue in the dugout for Notts after overseeing the side’s progression to the Checkatrade Trophy round of 32 by beating Doncaster on Wednesday night.
Cheltenham had similar joy in the competition during the week – also beating a League One side as they recorded a 2-0 win over Coventry to top their group.
Both sides are short of league form, though, with Notts’ last win coming in the first week of October and Cheltenham’s on 8 September.
Chettle says…
“It’s a massive game. We need to get as far away from the bottom two as we can and build some momentum to get ourselves higher up the league.
“Wednesday’s performance gives us confidence and a platform to kick on from so hopefully we see a run of good results follow.
“Cheltenham will be a very different side to Doncaster. They’ll be physical and direct and we need to be strong as a unit to stand up to them.
“We have a gameplan to combat what they do and hopefully our quality shines through at the other end and we get our rewards like in midweek.”
Cheltenham boss Michael Duff says…
“They had a good result against Doncaster but we’d like to think we know what to expect from them after the scouting we’ve done.
“Obviously we need to pick up points in the league. We'll be looking to deliver a good performance and get the right result to go with it.
“We will prepare in the way we usually do but it all depends on whether or not we turn up on Saturday afternoon.
“There’s no point looking at other people – if we don't turn up we won't get anything.”
Team news
Chettle has some tough calls to make with Elliott Hewitt suspended, Matt Tootle injured, Noor Husin on international duty and Jon Stead and Kane Hemmings facing a battle to be fit.
Kristian Dennis and Enzio Boldewijn formed a potent attacking duo in midweek so could be paired again on Saturday.
Cheltenham have Chris Clements available again after missing Tuesday’s win over Coventry through suspension but Kevin Dawson and Sean Long both remain out with injuries.
Striker Luke Varney is also expected to return after missing out in midweek.
We’ve met before
The sides met almost a year ago to the day when Notts ran out 3-1 winners at Meadow Lane on 18 November 2017.
Shaun Brisley added to Jorge Grant’s brace with Carl Winchester getting the goal for the visitors.
Last season’s other meeting ended level as Joe Morrell cancelled out Terry Hawkridge’s first-half opener at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium in March.
The weekend’s officials
Referee: Darren Drysdale
Assistants: Richard Wild and Rob Smith
Fourth official: Kevin Johnson