At this point, this matchup is simply a must-win for Sutton United who are at serious risk of relegation to the National League.
With no wins in their last ten, their Football League status is in serious doubt and it is paramount that they put a winning run together soon, or else they could be relegated in early April.
Since Steve Morison has come in, improvements have been seen, yet the new boss is yet to win a game since taking charge after Matt Gray’s sacking in December. As a result, Sutton sit at the foot of the League Two table, seven points adrift from safety.
A win on Saturday would however be huge for their survival chances as Colchester are one of the only teams who the South London side could realistically catch this season.
Colchester sit just seven points clear of the relegation zone and will be wanting to gain three points on the road to distance themselves from the bottom two. They’ve been finding ways to pick up points in recent weeks but are by no means safe just yet.
A win for Danny Cowley’s side would greatly boost their survival chances, especially if Forest Green Rovers in 23rd fail to beat Tranmere on Saturday.
Sutton however have to win this game if they want to beat the drop this season and it can be expected that the players leave everything out on the pitch.
Here’s how two of The Real EFL writing team see the game playing out…
“If Sutton are to win another game this season, this is the game to do it. Colchester seem as if they are one of the teams who Sutton could well catch if able to go on a winning run and three points here could really kickstart an end of season survival push.
It’s rather frustrating for Sutton fans who do probably think that they’ve improved under Morison and the squad does indeed look stronger since the former-striker came in. They however have struggled to see out and win games, which has seriously harmed them.
Colchester have lost just once in their last five and have moved above Grimsby as a result. I think they’ll definitely stay up this season but see them losing this one.
Steve Morison is surely due a win sooner rather than later and I believe that this Sutton side will not go down without a fight.”
Sutton United 2-1 Colchester United
“The crunch time is now on for Sutton. Facing the team in 21st, this is as much of a must-win as it gets. With only 13 games of the season left, and that gap currently sitting at seven points, it would be hard to see anything other than relegation in their future if they fail to win. Therefore, this is also a must-win for Colchester. They have failed to kick on quite as much as many believed they would since the arrival of the Cowley brothers, and are still in a small amount of danger. Their performances have improved, with the likes of Alistair Smith performing at a consistently high level, however, their wildly inconsistent results, with many more losses than wins or draws, it seems too early to say they’re definitely out of trouble.
Thus, I expect this one to go down as a narrow victory. The question is for which side. Sutton being at home should give them an advantage, however, small advantages like that mean less when you go further down the table. Colchester will be up for this one and having not played in midweek will have had more time to learn the system Danny and Nicky are trying to implement, so I see them just edging out their opposition.”
Sutton United 0-1 Colchester United
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