City’s second away game of the season takes them to Gloucestershire for a first meeting with Cheltenham Town in over a decade. What kind of game can we expect at Whaddon Road, and who are the players to watch for the home side?
We’ve met before…
York and Cheltenham have met fourteen times in their history, with all of these meetings coming in the fourth tier. The Robins were something of a bogey team for City after they won promotion to the football league in 1999, as the Minstermen won only one of the first twelve encounters between the teams. However, the last time they shared a division in 2014/15, Russ Wilcox’s York side completed the double over Cheltenham with a pair of 1-0 wins: Diego de Girolamo scored the winner at Whaddon Road, and a Dave Winfield goal separated the teams at Bootham Crescent. The Robins went down that season, but secured an immediate return to the EFL by winning the National League the following season, passing relegated York on their way back up.
What to expect from Cheltenham
Cheltenham have experienced a mixed start to the season, with an opening day win over Rotherham followed up with a defeat on the road at Swindon and a draw at table-topping Barnet. After finishing 18th last season, they have been tipped to struggle again, but in Steve Cotterill they have a manager with plenty of experience as well as two promotions from this level under his belt. He is back at the club where he made his name, having taken the Robins from the Southern League all the way to League One during his five years in charge around the turn of the century.
Cotterill tends to set his team up in a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 formation, with a strong emphasis on defensive solidity and a high press rather than free-flowing possession football. They have done some interesting business over summer, adding experience to their defensive line with Pierce Sweeney, a creative midfield outlet in Charlie McCann, and two promising young loanees from Leicester in Jake Evans and Kirsten Otchere. Another notable addition is veteran forward Andreas Weimann from Derby, capped 26 times for the Austrian national team.
In goal, Wyll Stanway arrived from Barrow in the summer and is the clear first choice, with backup provided by the experienced Joe Day. At centre-back, club captain James Wilson returned to the side against Barnet and is likely to be partnered by Robbie Cundy. Another centre-back option if passed fit is Pierce Sweeney, who started the Robins’ first two league games but missed the Barnet game due to injury. Former USA youth international Jonathan Tomkinson should start at right-back, while on the left of defence his near-namesake Joe Tomlinson will compete for a start with George Nurse.
Cheltenham tend to set up with two deep-lying midfielders, and have a few options for these roles. Ben Stevenson is a likely starter if fully fit, but picked up a knock in training and was restricted to a cameo from the bench at the weekend. If he remains unable to start, young Freddy Willcox may continue in his place after an impressive showing at The Hive. Alongside Stevenson or Willcox, the combative Shaun McWilliams will expect to start having joined from Rotherham in the summer. The attacking midfield spot should be taken by Charlie McCann, another summer recruit who offers creativity and goal threat, having already scored twice in the league this season.
On the right wing, 18-year-old Jake Evans is the likely starter having hit the ground running after arriving on loan from Leicester. There are a couple of options on the left flank, with Jordan Shipley and Ryan Broom having both made league starts there this season. In terms of centre-forward options, George Miller is sidelined with a thigh injury, but Cheltenham still have three contenders to choose from. The 35-year-old Weimann made his first start against Barnet so may retain his place, or Cotterill could turn to another young Leicester loanee in Kirsten Otchere. Jake Bickerstaff is a further option, but is more likely to appear off the bench.
York team news
Following the win over Exeter at the weekend, Scott Lindsey may name an unchanged squad for the trip to Gloucestershire. None of the six players missing through injury (Johnson, J Hunt, Boateng, Maguire, Stones and Akinyemi) are expected to return to action yet. With no new injuries reported and the team still unbeaten in the league, there is little obvious need for major changes.
There could perhaps be a temptation to rotate the starting eleven to rest one or two players, with the game being City's second of three in an eight day period. Ollie Banks rarely played twice in a week last season as Stuart Maynard cited concerns over his workload, but Lindsey has as yet shown little inclination to manage Banks’ game time, with the 33-year-old playing every minute so far this season. Perhaps more at risk of being rested is Ollie Pearce, with Jovan Malcolm pushing for a start after scoring on his debut against Exeter. The likeliest outcome, barring any late injury issues, would seem to be an unchanged line-up.
