by Richard Early
NEWPORT County travel to face Colchester United at JobServe Community Stadium in Sky Bet League Two on Saturday.
County have enjoyed a strong start to the 2019/20 League Two season, winning seven, drawing six and losing one game so far and are placed fifth – three points off leaders Crewe Alexandra.
Their goalkeeper Thomas King has kept eight clean sheets in League Two this campaign, which is more than any other stopper in the top four tiers of English football.
The U’s are currently seven places and seven points below Saturday’s visitors, having won five, drawn five and lost five to date during their League Two season.
Padraig Amond is the South Wales side’s current top scorer with six goals, while Theo Robinson and Luke Norris are joint top scorers for the English team with four goals.
Colchester and the Exiles last met in League Two action in March 2019 at the JobServe Community Stadium and the hosts won 3-0, with current Bristol City player Sammie Szmodics scoring as well as Courtney Senior and Frank Nouble.
Four months previous, they played at Rodney Parade and County won 2-0 through goals from Jamille Matt and on-loan Bristol City left-back Cameron Pring.
Newport County manager Mike Flynn told the South Wales Argus, that he is expecting a tough encounter, saying: “I think, on their day, Colchester are one of the best teams in the league.
“They’ve got some really good players and I don’t like going down there. It’s going to be tough Saturday afternoon.”
Ahead of the game, Colchester boss John McGreal discussed striking a balance between utilising his large squad, but also keep a positive mood in the camp, according to a report from the Gazette Standard. He said: “We’ve had to try and utilise a biggish kind of squad this year and also keep the harmony in the squad.
“That is important, as sometimes you can get players who aren’t involved and see their frustration.
“We have to keep them involved, because we’ve already played 20 games this year.”
The match will not be televised, but live coverage can be followed via @NewportCounty on Twitter.
