Swindon Town make the journey to Cambridgeshire for a Carabao Cup first round showdown with League One side Peterborough United.
Tuesday evening’s cup clash with The Posh now becomes Town’s first competitive fixture of the 2023/24 campaign, after Saturday’s League Two fixture at Colchester United was postponed due to heavy rain and a waterlogged pitch.
A lowdown on the hosts
Founded in 1934, Peterborough United spent their formative years in the Midland League, which they would eventually go on to win for five consecutive seasons from 1955-1960. At the turn of the decade, The Posh were elected into the Football League.
Peterborough have spent nearly the entirety of the 21st century in Leagues One and Two, but enjoyed campaigns in the Championship in 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, and more recently, in 2021/22.
Darren Ferguson’s side famously missed out on a return to England’s second tier last season, when play-off semi-final opponents Sheffield Wednesday miraculously overcame a four-goal deficit in their second leg to progress to the final.
Last time out
The sides last met in April of 2021, in a League One clash at The County Ground. An impressive Peterborough side, who soon went on to secure automatic promotion to the Championship, came away with all three points thanks to an early brace from Siriki Dembele and a late goal from Jonson Clarke-Harris.
Head-to-head
20/21: Swindon Town 0-3 Peterborough United
20/21: Peterborough United 3-1 Swindon Town
16/17: Swindon Town 0-1 Peterborough United
16/17: Peterborough United 2-2 Swindon Town
15/16: Peterborough United 1-2 Swindon Town
The manager: Darren Ferguson
Darren, son of legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex, has now entered his 11th season as the manager of Peterborough United, and, remarkably, his fourth stint with the club.
Over the course of his 16-year managerial career, Ferguson has so far led The Posh to three promotions - consecutively, in 2007/08 and 2008/09, and once more in 2020/21.
Ferguson returned for his fourth spell in charge, in January of this year, initially penning a contract until the end of the season. His side went on to secure a sixth-place finish and lose narrowly in the play-off semi-final. Despite missing out on a fourth promotion as boss, the 51-year-old signed a three-year contract at the end of the campaign.
One to watch: Jonson Clarke-Harris
Last season’s joint-top goalscorer in League One, with a staggering 26 goals, Clarke-Harris will no doubt be one for the Town back line to keep an eye on on Tuesday evening, if he is to feature.
The 29-year-old, who many had tipped to move on from Peterborough United this summer after the club publicly made him available for transfer in May, remains a part of the first-team squad, and played all 90 minutes of opening day victory at Reading.
