Perhaps a welcome break from league football as Grimsby Town & Manchester City U21 face off to decide who makes it to next stage of the EFL Trophy. All the pre-match information is available here!
There’s little time for restitution or working hard at the training pitch these days, with both teams having played their last game less than four days ago.
Grimsby Town form and stats
Grimsby Town's results here at Blundell Park in the League Two have been very modest with 1 victory, 4 draws and 2 defeats.
Grimsby's previous match was a FA Cup game also played at home, ending 5-1 vs Plymouth Argyle. The home side hope to to build on that result.
Heartbreak before that as Grimsby Town lost 1-2 at Hartlepool United's place.This is expected to be a close game, with Grimsby perhaps considered small favourites due to their home advantage. Looking back at earlier matches similar to this one (expected to be close with Grimsby Town as a small favourite), we find 8 games. Grimsby Town has won 3 of these, drawn 2 and lost 3.
Another home game is coming up fairly shortly for the hosts, as Doncaster Rovers are coming to town in four days.
From these home matches, Grimsby Town have conceded only 6 goals.
Manchester City U21 form and stats
Last season their EFL Trophy adventure ended in the group stage.The story so far for the visiting team on their Premier League 2 Division One travels is 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat.
Two away matches in a row for Manchester, whose manager Barry-Murphy could celebrate last time after the win against Manchester United U21. As mentioned above, Manchester City U21 was the only team on the pitch versus Manchester United U21 in their previous game, winning 6-1. This could be a tougher task. Bobb certainly enjoyed Manchester City U21's last game versus Manchester United U21, appearing multiple times in the match report with four goals and the 6-1 victory.
A 3-6 defeat away at Everton U21 before that.Manchester are scoring goals for fun in their league games away this season, having clocked up more than three goals per game on average (17 goals from 5 away games).
Head 2 Head
Top Goalscorers
  A. Mebude 7 goals |  H. Clifton 5 goals | O. Bobb 5 goals |
Grimsby Town missing players
Manchester City U21 missing players
| Grimsby Town | Manchester City U21 | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 13 | Played | P | 19 | 25 | ||
| 12 | 5 | Won | W | 9 | 12 | ||
| 6 | 5 | Drew | D | 3 | 5 | ||
| 7 | 3 | Lost | L | 7 | 8 | ||
| 38 | 20 | Scored | S | 42 | 54 | ||
| 22 | 11 | Conceded | C | 32 | 40 | ||
| 88% | 77% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 96% | ||
| 76% | 77% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 100% | 92% | ||
| 48% | 54% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 84% | 80% | ||
| 20% | 15% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 53% | 56% | ||
| 4% | 8% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 21% | 24% | ||
| 44% | 46% | BTTS | BTTS | 68% | 68% | ||
| 44% | 46% | Clean Sheets | C S | 26% | 28% | ||
| 24% | 31% | Failed to Score | F T | 5% | 8% | ||
| 5.2 | 4.8 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 5 | 5.1 | ||
| 4.9 | 5.2 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 4.4 | 4.2 | ||
| 1.5 | 1.2 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.2 | 1.1 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 2 | ||
| 12.5 | 13.5 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 11.2 | 11.1 | ||
| 5 | 5.2 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 4.7 | 5 | ||
| 30% | 30% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 47% | 44% | ||
| 11.2 | 9.7 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 11.5 | 10.6 | ||
| 2.4 | 1.8 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 5.1 | 4.8 | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Mansfield Town | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 5 |
| 2 | Derby County | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Manchester City U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Grimsby Town | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Leyton Orient | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 39 |
| 2 | Stevenage | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 36 |
| 3 | Northampton Town | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 29 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 32 |
| 4 | Barrow | 17 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 31 |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 17 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 30 |
| 6 | Bradford City | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 27 |
| 7 | Carlisle United | 16 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 27 |
| 8 | Salford City | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 27 |
| 9 | Mansfield Town | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 27 |
| 10 | Tranmere Rovers | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 25 |
| 11 | Doncaster Rovers | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 21 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -1 | 25 |
| 12 | Walsall | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 23 |
| 13 | Grimsby Town | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 23 |
| 14 | Stockport County | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 22 |
| 15 | AFC Wimbledon | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 20 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 14 | -4 | 19 |
| 16 | Crewe Alexandra | 16 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 12 | -5 | 19 |
| 17 | Sutton United | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 15 | -7 | 19 |
| 18 | Newport County | 17 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 9 | -5 | 16 |
| 19 | Crawley Town | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 15 | -10 | 14 |
| 20 | Gillingham | 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 11 | -11 | 13 |
| 21 | Harrogate Town | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 15 | -10 | 12 |
| 22 | Rochdale | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 12 | 23 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 13 | -11 | 12 |
| 23 | Hartlepool United | 17 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 19 | -15 | 12 |
| 24 | Colchester United | 17 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 14 | -11 | 11 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Arsenal U21 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 24 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 23 |
| 2 | Liverpool U21 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 22 |
| 3 | Manchester City U21 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 29 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 21 |
| 4 | Chelsea U21 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 29 | 20 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 20 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace U21 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 20 |
| 6 | Fulham U21 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 14 | 19 |
| 7 | Everton U21 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 21 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 19 |
| 8 | Brighton U21 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 16 |
| 9 | Wolves U21 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 26 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 14 | -8 | 14 |
| 10 | Blackburn Rovers U21 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 16 | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 15 | -9 | 10 |
| 11 | Manchester United U21 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 21 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 17 | -15 | 10 |
| 12 | Leicester U21 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 25 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | -11 | 9 |
| 13 | Tottenham U21 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 16 | -17 | 6 |
| 14 | West Ham United U21 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 14 | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 16 | -13 | 5 |
- Grimsby Town
- Grimsby Telegraph - (local newspaper)
- The Fishy - (supporter site)
- Cod almighty - (supporter fanzine)
