James Heneghan's Northampton Town v Cheltenham Town preview

Date/time: Thursday, June 18, 7.45pm kick-off

Venue: PTS Academy Stadium

Forecast: 16C, sunny spells

Outs and doubts: Cobblers: Sam Hoskins (suspended - 1/1), Shaun McWilliams (knee). Cheltenham: Scott Flinders (broken leg).

Betting: Northampton 7/5, draw 2/1, Cheltenham 21/10

Form guide: Cobblers LWLWLL, Robins DWWWWW

Current league positions: 7th v 4th

Possible line-ups: Northampton (3-5-2): Cornell; Goode, Turnbull, Wharton; Harriman, Adams, McCormack, Watson, Olayinka; Morton, Oliver. Cheltenham (3-5-2): Evans; Raglan, Boyle, Greaves; Long, Sheaf, Thomas, Broom, Hussey; Reid, May.

Man in the middle: Marc Edwards

Last time out: Northampton 1 (Smith) Mansfield 2 (Rose, Tomlinson); Cheltenham 0 Port Vale 0

Most recent meeting: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 - Cheltenham 2 (Broom, Varney) Northampton 1 (Watson)

Record v Cheltenham: P34 W11 D9 L14

James Heneghan's preview: The Cobblers have played just two matches since they last faced Cheltenham Town but to say things have changed since that meeting at Whaddon Road on February 25 would be an understatement of epic proportions.

Back then, when Luke Varney’s late winner further dented Cobblers’ stuttering promotion bid, the season was in full swing and a request to remain two metres away from everyone else whilst wearing a face mask would have been met with quizzical looks.

But the world is now a very different place. It's been a wild and chaotic three months as COVID-19 has swept across the globe, wiping out all sport with it.

There were times when it seemed as if Northampton's season would never restart but, 103 days after their last match, they will finally take to the field again when they welcome the Robins in tonight's play-off semi-final at Sixfields.

Cobblers are undoubtedly one of several teams to have benefitted from the EFL's decision to decide tables on a points-per-game basis. Few could begrudge them a play-off place having spent so much of the season occupying one, but, given their form compared with others at the time the season was suspended, it was certainly no guarantee that they'd have finished inside the top seven had the final nine games taking place.

But an unprecedented situation calls for an unprecedented solution and whilst the likes of Port Vale and Tranmere Rovers are right to feel aggrieved, there was never any perfect solution that would please everyone. It was a case of choosing the least-worst option.

So here we are, the Cobblers with an unlikely but very realistic shot at promotion as they battle alongside Exeter City, Colchester United and semi-final opponents Cheltenham for a place in next season's League One.

The typical description of the play-offs that they are a ‘lottery’ is often overly simplistic but on this particular occasion it is perhaps accurate. Following less than three weeks of training, it might simply be a survival of the fittest. If that is the case, the Cobblers have been talking a good game.

"It's different and it'll be a lot tougher," said midfielder Alan McCormack in a recent interview. "Those last 20, 30 minutes in games will be a really crucial part.

"But seeing the way we've all come back with our fitness and with the way we play, I think it'll really, really help us in those final 20 minutes."

Nicky Adams and Keith Curle have said likewise but no-one will truly know until 7.45pm tonight when referee Marc Edwards blows his whistle to get proceedings underway. It will be the second EFL game to take place since the enforced break, the first being Exeter's trip to Colchester in the other semi-final (5.15pm).

It's important to recognise and celebrate the achievement of reaching the play-offs, too. Sure, it was not achieved in the ideal manner but Northampton were a club stuck in reverse at the time of Curle's appointment in October 2018. Now, they are potentially three games from returning to the third tier.

Whether they will get there is another question, one that is almost impossible to answer. Usually the formbook would provide a good guide but whilst Cheltenham were flying and Northampton stumbling back at the time of the suspension, now there is simply no form to go on.

Whatever happens in these two games, though, it feels as if the Cobblers will emerge from this crisis a stronger, more united club. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that togetherness can take you a long way.

Supporters, staff members - both non-playing and playing - and players have pulled together like never before. It's been one of the major positives to come out of a difficult situation and it's also part of the reason why it feels like the Cobblers have as good a chance as anyone going into the four-way promotion shoot-out.

Prediction: Northampton Town 1 Cheltenham Town 0