Stevenage welcome Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s to Broadhall Way on Tuesday evening, as they get their EFL Trophy campaign underway.
The League Two side will take on their young counterparts in the competition's Southern Group H.
Match preview
After a mixed start to the new league season, Stevenage return to knockout football this week, with the first fixture in a section also featuring Oxford United and Cambridge.
Having been much criticised in the past, the EFL Trophy is a tournament for clubs in League One and League Two, plus 16 Premier League academy teams with Category One status. It does provide, though, an opportunity for teams such as Boro to claim some rare silverware.
Following their dramatic defeat of local rivals Luton Town in the first round of the EFL Cup, Alex Revell's side have since won only one of their four league outings, while going out of the cup to Wycombe after a second successive penalty shootout.
On Saturday, Stevenage were beaten 1-0 at Walsall, despite dominating possession, as Connor Wilkinson's fifth-minute goal proved impossible to overturn against the struggling Saddlers.
Revell was left questioning his squad's determination to scrap out results following a difficult game and indicated that Boro are working hard to add some fresh blood to the camp before the transfer window closes.
The former Rotherham United forward steered his club to an impressive second half of last season - losing just three of their final 18 matches as they sealed a 14th-place finish - so will relish the chance to prove his credentials against a Premier League setup this week.
Tottenham's academy has been notoriously prolific over the years, with many of its graduates going on to represent England or other nations with distinction.
The current crop of Spurs talents will travel to Stevenage expecting to gain valuable experience in senior football but also with the aim to get off to a winning start in Southern Group H.
Head coach Wayne Burnett's development squad will certainly want to fare better than when their club last took part in this competition, as they finished bottom of a group including Ipswich Town, Colchester United and Gillingham in 2019.
Undoubtedly, many of Tottenham's young charges have a long way to go to make the first team, but Tuesday night's game may provide one of the first steps on that path.
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Team News
Stevenage are likely to make changes after back-to-back losses in league and cup, but winger Elliott List will expect to keep his place, having enjoyed his best goalscoring season in 2020-21 - netting 11 times and being named Boro's Player of the Year.
He has already bagged three goals so far in all competitions and could start in support of newly-signed striker Bruno Andrade, who made his second debut for the club last week.
James Daly and Jamie Reid are two other strong contenders to start up front for the hosts.
Tottenham's team could feature Alfie Devine, who became the club's youngest-ever player and goalscorer at senior level in the FA Cup tie with Marine in January. In total, the Warrington-born youngster scored twice in 12 appearances for the Under-18s during a 2020-21 campaign that saw him involved in the senior squad on several occasions.
Wayne Burnett may also call upon Dane Scarlett, who made his Premier League debut as a substitute against West Bromwich Albion in February; claiming an assist in the Europa League against Wolfsberger later that month. The striker scored his first senior goal in a 1-1 pre-season draw at Leyton Orient last month.
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
Anang; Wildin, Vancooten, Prosser, Coker; Osborne, Taylor, Reeves, List; Andrade, Reid
Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Oluwayemi; Hackett, Fagan-Walcott, Paskotsi, Lusala; Ceesay, Devine, Markanday, Bennett; Scarlett, Torraj
We say: Stevenage 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s
Tottenham's academy boys may be a talented bunch, but their lack of experience compared to a Stevenage side already up and running in League Two could be exposed on Tuesday.
Boro have not been entirely fluent in front of goal, so a solitary strike should see them to an opening victory.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Stevenage win with a probability of 66.45%. A draw had a probability of 19.5% and a win for Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s had a probability of 14.01%.
The most likely scoreline for a Stevenage win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.5%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (10.87%) and 2-1 (9.81%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.27%), while for a Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s win it was 0-1 (4.39%). The actual scoreline of 3-4 was predicted with a 0.2% likelihood.
