Cheltenham Town vs Accrington Stanley - prediction, team news, lineups

Both recent winners of the fourth tier, Cheltenham Town and Accrington Stanley find themselves as possible relegation rivals ahead of their League Two clash at EV Charger Points Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Robins suffered EFL Trophy pain earlier in the week to continue their woeful run of form, whilst the Reds picked up a respectable result on the road.

Match preview

Since suffering relegation from League One at the conclusion of the 2023-24 campaign, Cheltenham Town have shown little sign of returning to their former glories, with the 2020-21 League Two champions currently in a major rut at the start of this term.

The Robins' winless streak across all competitions extended to a highly-concerning six matches on Tuesday night at Home Park in Devonshire, where a first-half brace from Plymouth Argyle man Lorent Tolaj was enough for EFL Trophy success.

Focusing on fourth-tier matters for the moment, the Gloucestershire-based club are one of five teams in the 24-club division yet to taste victory in 2025-26, with Cheltenham sitting rock bottom of the standings after collecting just a single point from six contests.

Scrambling for positives ahead of this weekend's visit of fellow strugglers Accrington, Michael Flynn's troops managed to stop the five-game rot in League Two last Friday night, when a first goal of the term from George Miller was enough to earn a point at Salford City.

Conceding an eye-watering total of 12 goals across their opening six fourth-tier battles, the Robins possess the joint-leakiest defence in the division alongside Shrewsbury Town, with Cheltenham also netting a division-low number of goals (2).

Also former winners of League Two - lifting the title during the 2017-18 campaign - Accrington Stanley appear in danger of dropping out of the Football League altogether this season, with Saturday's visitors enduring a winless start to the league campaign.

Sharing the spoils in three of their opening five league contests, the Reds' inability to convert draws into vital maximums has proved a major issue, one which reared its ugly head last weekend when they played out a stalemate with Shrewsbury at The Croud Meadow.

Following their collection of three points across the first five matches of the League Two campaign, Accrington are currently occupying 21st spot, the position they ended up in after 46 games last season, when they finished eight points above relegated Carlisle United.

Both of the Reds' competitive wins this season to date have arrived at their Wham Stadium base during the early rounds of the EFL Cup, with John Doolan's side aiming to secure an away maximum for the first time since the trip to promotion-chasing Walsall on April 26.

Arguably a one-man team at the top end of the pitch for Accrington at present, Tyler Walton is the only player to make the net ripple in League Two for this weekend's visitors, with the 26-year-old scoring three goals after managing just six across 41 fourth-tier appearances last term.

Cheltenham Town League Two form:

L L L L L D

Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):

L L L L D L

Accrington Stanley League Two form:

D L L D D

Accrington Stanley form (all competitions):

W L D L D L

Team News

After picking up a red card against Plymouth in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, Cheltenham defender Scot Bennett is suspended for this weekend's hosting of Accrington.

As a result, one of the Robins' youngsters could earn a chance to start in League Two, with Mark Barber and Cameron Walters possible options.

Following their substitute roles earlier in the week, forwards Lee Angol and Miller should return to the starting XI for the hosts.

Keeping a clean sheet and making four vital saves at The Croud Meadow last weekend, Oliver Wright will retain his spot in between the sticks for Accrington.

Hoping to ease the burden on strike partner Walton, veteran Paddy Madden will hunt for his first League Two goal of the season at the fourth attempt.

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Day; Mazionis, Walters, Willcox; Jude-Boyd, Kinsella, Young, Martin, Archer; Miller, Angol

Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:

Wright; Matthews, Ward, Sass; Love, Bauress, Sinclair, Brown, Caton; Madden, Walton

We say: Cheltenham Town 1-1 Accrington Stanley

In the midst of a real rut, Cheltenham are lacking in confidence and could struggle once again this weekend versus Accrington.

The Reds have picked up promising draws at Shrewsbury and Fleetwood Town over the past week, although we feel that the visitors will fall just short of victory in Gloucestershire.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.