James Heneghan's Peterborough United v Northampton Town preview

Fixture: Peterborough United v Northampton Town, Checkatrade Trophy
Could Billy Waters be given a first start under Hasselbaink on Tuesday? Picture by Kirsty EdmondsCould Billy Waters be given a first start under Hasselbaink on Tuesday? Picture by Kirsty Edmonds
Could Billy Waters be given a first start under Hasselbaink on Tuesday? Picture by Kirsty Edmonds

Date/time: Tuesday, October 3, 7.45pm kick-off

Venue: ABAX Stadium

Forecast: 12C, cloudy

Outs and doubts: Posh: Junior Morias (thigh), Gwion Edwards (groin), Callum Chettle (hamstring). Cobblers: Sam Hoskins (ankle), Chris Long (hamstring), Shaun McWilliams (foot), John-Joe O’Toole (groin), Aaron Phillips (thigh), Matt Crooks (knee), Regan Poole (international duty)

Betting: Peterborough 4/6, draw 3/1, Northampton 19/5

Form guide: Posh LLWDWL, Cobblers LDLLDW

Possible Northampton line-up (4-3-3): Cornell; Moloney, Barnett, Pierre, Buchanan; Kasim, Foley, McGugan; Waters, Smith, Richards

Goalkeeper David Cornell may also start at PeterboroughGoalkeeper David Cornell may also start at Peterborough
Goalkeeper David Cornell may also start at Peterborough

Man in the middle: Gavin Ward

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Last time out: Peterborough 1 (Marriott) Oxford 4; Rotherham 1 Northampton 0

Most recent meeting: Saturday, August 26, 2017 – Northampton 1 (Revell) Peterborough 4 (Edwards, Morias, Marriott, Maddison)

Record v Peterborough: P67 W20 D17 L30

Grant McCann expects a tough gameGrant McCann expects a tough game
Grant McCann expects a tough game

Opposition view: “Jimmy has steadied the ship,” Grant McCann told Peterboroughtoday.co.uk. “They are a very resolute side who have become hard to break down. Northampton won the first two games under Jimmy. They’ve struggled for results since, but they are organised and committed. I’m expecting a tough game.”

James Heneghan’s preview: To describe this game as a shot at redemption following August’s horror show would perhaps be a stretch too far given the context but, if nothing else, tonight’s clash does at least present the Cobblers with a swift opportunity to right some of those disastrous wrongs.

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Humbled and hammered on their own patch in what turned out to be Justin Edinburgh’s final league match in charge, the latest chapter in this rivalry was another grim one for Northampton.

Admittedly, even the prospect of a tasty local derby hardly gets the juices pumping such is the apathy felt towards this much-maligned competition but, even so, the mere possibility of scoring goals and winning a game of football is one Town should seize upon given their current predicament.

Goalkeeper David Cornell may also start at PeterboroughGoalkeeper David Cornell may also start at Peterborough
Goalkeeper David Cornell may also start at Peterborough

The penalty shoot-out ‘victory’ over Cambridge United in their first group stage match has put them in a decent position to qualify and victory at London Road tonight would all but see them through to the knock-out stage.

Peterborough too are off to a good start in the competition after making light work of Southampton’s youngsters in their opening game to top the South Group H table.

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Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has confirmed he intends to shuffle his pack this evening and that could present rare opportunities to the likes of Billy Waters, Sam Foley, Yaser Kasim, Leon Barnett and David Cornell.

Waters has yet to start since Hasselbaink’s arrival while Foley has yet to play at all for the Cobblers after spending two months recovering from an ankle injury suffered in pre-season.

The one frustration for Hasselbaink is the length of Northampton’s injury list. With up to seven players potentially absent tonight, he’s not able to rotate as much as he may have wanted.

New signing Lewis McGugan could be thrown straight in after joining on Monday and his creativity and attacking enterprise may well prove invaluable for a team desperately short on those qualities.

Grant McCann expects a tough gameGrant McCann expects a tough game
Grant McCann expects a tough game
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A victory in the Checkatrade Trophy is unlikely to transform spirits around Sixfields, even it does came at the expense of Peterborough, but after no win in five, this is not a time to be picky.