COLCHESTER United have never played Stevenage, but the Hertfordshire club have passed the U’s and are currently above them in the League One table.

COLCHESTER United have never played Stevenage, but the Hertfordshire club have passed the U’s and are currently above them in the League One table.

Promoted to the Conference in 1994, and eventually promoted to the Football League in 2010, Stevenage know all about feeding off momentum.

They secured back-to-back promotions last May, by beating Torquay United 1-0 in the League Two play-off final. And here they share some common ground with the U’s, who themselves clinched promotion to the third tier back in 1998, by also defeating Torquay 1-0 in a play-off final.

While the U’s have already enjoyed two glory years in the Championship, Stevenage nurse genuine hopes of also reaching that ‘promised land.’

A third successive promotion would be a huge ask, but Graham Westley’s unfashionable club are full of surprises.

It will be interesting to see how the Hertfordshire club shape up today.

The U’s will have to cope with the loss of their leading scorer, Anthony Wordsworth, although they have the strength in depth to fill the 22-year-old’s midfield role.

Wordsworth picked up his fifth booking of the season, during the U’s last outing at Hartlepool. So although he scored the winning goal in a 1-0 success, his joy was tempered by the knowledge that he would have to serve an immediate one-match suspension.

John Ward is not short of options. He could recall club skipper Kem Izzet to the starting line-up – Izzet came on as a substitute at Victoria Park – or he could hand fellow midfielder John-Joe O’Toole his first start since mid-September.