Peterborough United and Cambridge United renew league rivalry after 21 years

Peterborough and Cambridge last met in the EFL Trophy in 2020 when the game ended 1-1

It may not have the profile of a Merseyside or north London derby, but any meeting between Peterborough and Cambridge United is a big occasion for fans of the two clubs.

And especially so on Saturday, when they will meet in a league fixture for the first time in more than 20 years.

Since a goalless draw at the Abbey Stadium in December 2001, they have only been in opposition in the EFL Trophy, most recently a 1-1 draw almost two years ago, also in Cambridge.

This time Peterborough - relegated from the Championship last season - will be the hosts and they go into the game in fourth place in League One, with three wins in their last four games.

Times have been tougher of late for Mark Bonner's Cambridge, who lost five games in a row before a welcome 3-2 victory at Wycombe in midweek, helped by a stunning strike from Jack Lankester.

Saturday's match will have a special significance for Bonner, who was appointed head coach of his hometown club in March 2020, having watched derbies against Peterborough from the stands in years gone by.

"2001, 1999, I was at those games. There's a great atmosphere," he told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

"We've not had the successes that Peterborough have had in that 20 years but we're competing in the same league now and we've got to show we're a match for them - I'm really looking forward to that challenge."

He continued: "We've got enough players who understand what the game means to the club and the supporters, but for us it's about going and playing a strong team at this level and delivering a good performance.

"If the occasion, the atmosphere, can get any more out of us, then happy days, because we want to play with that edge and be the best version of ourselves, which we were on Tuesday."

'A hostile atmosphere gets you going'

Two players who could have a significant say in the outcome at the Weston Homes Stadium are strikers Jonson Clarke-Harris and Joe Ironside.

Clarke-Harris has scored 54 goals in 102 league games since re-joining Posh from Bristol Rovers two summers ago, just four days before the prolific Ivan Toney's departure for Brentford left some big scoring shoes to fill.

Jonson Clarke-Harris scored his 12th goal of the season in Peterborough's win over Accrington on Tuesday

He is well aware of the significance of taking on Cambridge, but insists it is "just another game that we want to win".

The 28-year-old said: "It will be massive for Peterborough, the club and the city. I know everybody's going to be excited and high, and we are as well, we know it's going to be packed.

"But we've got to look past that. There's a game there with three points to win and that's what we want.

"Tunnel vision, hopefully if I get a chance in front of goal, I'll put it away."

Yorkshireman Ironside's record for Cambridge is none too shabby either, with 32 goals in 97 league games since his move from Macclesfield.

"Supporting Sheffield United, obviously Sheffield Wednesday is our derby, but I've never played in a massive derby game," he told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire.

"Any footballer wants to play in an atmosphere that's big, that's hostile - it gets you going."

Voted into Football League

In the days when clubs were elected to the Football League instead of earning membership on the pitch, 10 years separated Peterborough and Cambridge being elevated from non-league football - Posh ahead of the 1960-61 season and the U's for 1970-71.

The two teams first faced each other in October 1970, when they played out a 1-1 draw at the Abbey Stadium - and there have been 40 subsequent meetings in all competitions, with Posh winning on 16 occasions and Cambridge 14.

Bill Leivers was Cambridge manager when they first played Peterborough in a Football League game in 1970

Both have reached the second tier of the English game, Peterborough doing so on three occasions since 2010 without managing to cement their status at that level.

Cambridge finished fifth in the old Division Two in 1992, thanks in part to the goals of Dion Dublin, but missed out on a chance to play in the inaugural Premier League season when they were beaten by Leicester City in the play-offs.

The club's fortunes subsequently declined to such an extent that they were relegated to the Conference in 2005 and spent nine seasons at that level before finally regaining their EFL status in 2014.

'It's going to be bouncing'

Recent form suggests Peterborough will start as favourites but as many past derbies have shown, the form book might as well be thrown out of one of the boardroom windows.

Posh manager Grant McCann believes his side will have to be at their best to come away with the points.

"I don't think form matters too much in this league anyway, I think every team has the capabilities to beat any other," he said.

"The relentless nature of Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday is tough and makes it hard to be consistent, with the amount of games.

"As a player, I actually performed better in the bigger games, but everybody is different.

"The stadium is going to be bouncing. The fans will be right behind us and hopefully the boys will go out there and run through a brick wall for them."