🏏 Sat, 6 Dec 2025 15:00 GMT
Cheltenham
vs
Buxton
4-1-4-1 vs Positions estimated ※ estimated
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Cheltenham host this first-round tie in a 4-1-4-1. J. Bickerstaff (20) leads the line on his own, with H. Adelakun (31), I. Hutchinson (21), L. Young (8) and J. Thomas (11) forming the band of four behind him, and B. Stevenson (26) sitting alone at the base of midfield. It is a set-up that commits numbers forward and trusts a single screening midfielder to manage the middle.
- There is a quirk to the way the hosts have loaded the front line. Only two of Cheltenham's eleven starters are registered as forwards, Bickerstaff and Adelakun, and Adelakun lines up in the band of four rather than alongside the striker. That gives the shape a near-two-striker look going forward, which in turn puts the spotlight on how much ground Stevenson can cover on his own.
- The back four is not built along conventional lines either. Three recognised defenders, J. Tomkinson (27), S. Bennett (17) and J. Wilson (5), are joined by R. Broom (14), a midfielder by registration, with J. Day (1) behind them. Putting a ball-player in the defensive line should help Cheltenham build from deep, but it will be tested by the long, direct deliveries that first-round cup ties tend to produce.
- Eason Archer, 29 and 1.82m, is the most obvious game-changer on the Cheltenham bench. A product of Kinetic Academy, he passed through eight non-league clubs, Three Bridges, Welling United and Torquay United among them, before turning professional, and Luton Town eventually paid around GBP 500,000 for him. A right-footed left winger who backs himself to beat a man, he is now in his second spell at Cheltenham.
- Cheltenham's substitutes lean towards defensive insurance. R. Cundy (6), A. Jude-Boyd (2) and D. Power (12) are all registered defenders, L. Kinsella (4), G. Harmon (3), M. Diallo (41) and T. Backwell (28) cover midfield, and J. Martin (16) is the forward option. Whether they are protecting a lead or chasing one, the hosts can rotate without abandoning the 4-1-4-1.
- Buxton put J. Young (1) in goal. Of the ten outfield starters, four are registered defenders, M. Bardell (22), G. Ward (5), J. Smith (16) and S. Robinson (27), five are midfielders, C. Kirby (8), T. Campbell (4), R. McLean (17), C. Coleman (10) and L. Brennan (11), and only T. Sodje (20) is a recognised forward. Plenty of bodies in the middle, and a lot riding on Sodje holding the ball up.
- Eight of Buxton's nine substitutes are registered midfielders: P. Cooper (13), W. Trueman (2), D. Hill (3), L. Stephenson (12), K. Martin (14), R. Viggars (18), O. Greaves (21) and L. Hall (23), with J. Johnston (7) the attacking option. That depth of running power in the middle gives the visitors a route back into the tie if they can keep the game close long enough to use it.