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Date/time: Saturday, February 25, 3pm kick-off

Venue: JobServe Community Stadium

Forecast: 7C, cloudy

Ryan Haynes scored a late winner when these two met on the opening day of the season.

Outs and doubts: Colchester: Cole Skuse, Sam Hornby, Tom Dallison. Cobblers: Lee Burge, Akin Odimayo, Ryan Haynes, Danny Hylton, Kieron Bowie, Ben Fox, Josh Harrop.

Betting: Colchester 21/10, draw 11/5, Northampton 7/5

Form guide: Colchester LDWDWD, Cobblers LDDDWL

Current league positions: 19th v 5th

Possible line-ups: Colchester: O’Hara, Kelleher, Smith, Hall, Greenidge, Jay, Read, Wood, Chilvers, Appiah, Hopper. Northampton: King, Lintott, Magloire, Guthrie, Koiki, Sowerby, McWilliams, Leonard, Pinnock, Hoskins, Appéré.

Man in the middle: Sunny Singh Gill

Last time out: Carlisle 1 Colchester 0; Northampton 1 (Hoskins) Grimsby 2

Most recent meeting: July 30, 2022 – Northampton 3 (Hoskins 2, Haynes) Colchester 2 (Sears, Chilvers)

Record v Colchester United: P76 W33 D14 L29

What Jon Brady said: “Colchester have certainly improved since they went and signed the players they have. They have some quality strikers and real strength in depth but we’ll tackle them head on. We have been quite strong away from home, we have one of the best records in the division, so we will set out to go and win the game, as we always do. We are up against a tough competitor but if our game management is on point and we play the way we can play then we believe we can get a result anywhere.”

What they said: Colchester caretaker boss Ross Embleton: “I think it’s important that we have continuity. I’m not going to sit here and tell you all the secrets because there will be a manager and an analyst listening to what I’m saying sitting in Northampton somewhere. I think it’s important to keep some continuity in what we’re doing because it’s not been broken anyway. Sometimes you’re sitting in this chair picking up the pieces but that’s not the case at the moment, it’s about trying to continue the momentum and the good work that’s been done so at the same time it’s important to impose some of what I’m doing.”

Prediction: Colchester United 1 Northampton Town 2

James Heneghan's Colchester United v Northampton Town preview