Wade Elliott’s side are favourites to top Group K after 2-1 wins over MK Dons and Walsall. Tuesday night’s opponents can still finish first with a win but could also see themselves eliminated altogether.
The two sides have met at this stage in the competition before with Cheltenham’s only win of the 2019/20 campaign coming in a 4–3 over tomorrow’s opponents at Whaddon Road. Jonte Smith scored a hattrick with George Lloyd adding another while Daniel Kemp bagged a brace and Bernardo Costa De Rosa found the net for the visitors.
The Robins have faced West Ham’s senior side on two occasions, both coming in the League Cup with the Hammers winning 2-1 at the Boleyn in 2013 and 2-0 at Whaddon Road in 2017.
Cheltenham beat Chelsea U21s on penalties in last season’s group stage with U18s player Zac Guinan making his professional debut. The 2020/21 season saw a 1-0 win over Norwich City with the aforementioned West Ham tie coming in 2019/20. A goalfest preceded this with a 6-2 win over current Robins man James Olayinka’s Arsenal before losing to Oxford on penalties in the next round.
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Kyle Storer scored Cheltenham’s goal in a 2-1 defeat to Swansea in 2017/18, Cheltenham’s only defeat to an Academy side. The game saw the debut of George Lloyd, an Academy graduate who recently hit a century of appearances. The Robins’ National League title saw them return to the Football League just in time for the first iteration of the modern EFL Trophy as Gary Johnson’s side beat Everton 2-1 in the group stage before thrashing Harvey Barnes’ Leicester City 6-1 in the second round.
Notable players to have played against Cheltenham in this competition:
EVERTON
Oumar Niasse, 42 games and 9 goals for Everton.
LEICESTER
Harvey Barnes, 156 games and 34 goals for Leicester City.
Hamza Choudhury, 84 games and 2 goals for Leicester City.
Bartosz Kapustka, 14 games and 3 goals for Poland, cost Leicester £7.5 million.
SWANSEA
Joe Rodon, 30 games for Wales and 24 games for Tottenham Hotspur.
