Notts County secured promotion in a penalty shoot-out success against East Midlands rivals Chesterfield at Wembley, and there were few outside the Derbyshire town who would not have seen it as justice after County ran Wrexham all the way in the National League championship race, finishing with a points tally of 107 which would normally have seen them finish comfortably at the top.

A high-profile signing following County’s promotion was Republic of Ireland striker David McGoldrick, who started with the club before going on to a successful career, helping Sheffield United to promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and scoring 25 goals for League One Derby County last season. Will Randall, released by Matt Gray after four seasons with Sutton, is another close season capture who could figure on Saturday.

The U’s boss has reshuffled his side during the summer, with ten new faces in the squad, the most recent addition being another Republic of Ireland international Aiden O’Brien on loan from League One Shrewsbury Town, and although pre-season has been slightly disrupted by injuries, Matt is hopeful that some of the injury concerns over the past couple of weeks will have eased in time for Saturday’s game.

Tickets are available on line through this link, with ground admission prices £21 for adults, £15 for concessions and £7 for ages 12-18. Under 12 tickets are free if bought in conjunction with an adult or concession ticket. Seats are £4 extra in all cases. We would strongly recommend buying in advance, with a large crowd expected on Saturday. Subject to availability, tickets will be on sale on the day at the ticket kiosk with a £2 increase in the above prices, an increase which does not apply to tickets sold on line even on the day of the game.

A match programme is available to buy on line, price £4 plus postage, here, and you can also buy a subscription to the programme, covering all our home games in Sky Bet League Two, the Carabao Cup, the EFL Trophy and the FA Cup, here for £85.75 plus postage.

Supporters are advised that there are no Thameslink trains through West Sutton on Saturday due to industrial action. There is a half hourly Southern service from Victoria to Dorking via Mitcham Junction, and a separate half hourly service from Victoria to Epsom Downs via West Croydo, all of which call at Sutton, but note that there are no trains from Sutton on Saturday evening after the 17.51 to London. From Sutton station catch the 80 or 413 bus to the ground – both services also connect with Morden station on the Northern Line, which is operating normally.

The home fan zone will be open from 12 noon serving drinks and pies, with live music and player appearances from 1.40pm, so why not come down early and meet up with supporters to look ahead to the season before the game. Please note that the MBA Lounge is closed after the game for a private function but the Players’ Bar will be open as usual.

iFollow service returns

For supporters unable to get to the game we once again have our iFollow service up and running with audio commentary from every game for UK supporters, and some games being live streamed in the UK. Saturday’s game will be an audio commentary, and passes can be bought for £2.50, but monthly passes are available for £4.49 and season passes for £45, both excellent value. Overseas supporters can watch every game, with a match pass costing £10. Again monthly passes are available at £25 and a season pass at the early bird price of £140 until the end of August. Click here for full details and to purchase a pass.

EFL Youth Alliance

The EFL Youth Alliance season also gets under way on Saturday, with our first South East Division game at home to Brentford. This is being played at Aberdour School, kick off 11am. Supporters not travelling to Barrow next week will have the chance to see the youngsters at the VBS with Leyton Orient the visitors.