GRAYS welcome Cambridge United to the New Rec knowing that their recent record against the top flight teams has been very impressive.

Justin Edinburgh's men have taken the opportunity to out-think Aldershot and overwhelm Forest Green Rovers.

Granted, they were caught cold and unpicked by Ebbsfleet but they have built up a reputation over the last three months so that every team will realise they are in for a hard 90 minutes when they take on the Blues.

This is the part of the season which sorts out the men for the boys. The balmy-ish August days are long gone. Visions of possible Wembley triumphs, League Two or the olay-offs have to be dismissed from the mind.

This is a time for rolling up the sleeves, showing your stamina and getting on with the next job. With three games already re-scheduled and the weather prospects decidedly sodden, many teams can expect two games a week in strength sapping conditions.

This is where squads of 20 or more full timers may well pay off. The key will be strength in depth in midfield.

Ian Selley, Alan Power, Michael Standing and Karl Murray are doing a fine job but there are concerns that Ernie Cooksey, Jamie Day and to a lesser extent Jack Obersteller are worryingly short of match practice.

The key again in this game is whether the 4-3-3 can hold itself against teams in the top ten. It works against the strugglers. It worked against York but the acres of space on the flanks were a concern.

Yes, the outstanding Grays defence could have dealt with the in-swinging balls but you just felt it was a high risk policy that may be unpicked by an excellent team such as Cambridge.

Cambridge's form has stuttered slightly. They don't seem to run away with games but five victories and four draws on the road is impressive.

Grays had the measure of them for a large part of the September fixture and were frustrated to go down 1-0. A lot of Cambridge matches are decided by the odd goal so again this could be a game that comes down to one error or one moment of magic.

Ross Flitney and Ian Selley return from suspension and Simon Downer should return from injury while Aaron O'Connor has recovered from the knock he picked up at York.

New signing from MK Dons, Scott Taylor is also available.