Sutton end a busy week on and off the pitch at the VBS Community Stadium when Harrogate Town are the visitors for a Sky Bet League Two fixture.
Harrogate will come to Sutton looking to avoid defeat at the ground for the first time, having lost on all three previous league visits and then going down to Craig Eastmond's goal in the Papa Johns Trophy quarter final in January, a month after Donovan Wilson's goal had separated the sides in the league meeting. U's then recorded a first win at Harrogate on the last day of the season although it was a day of mixed emotions with results elsewhere denying Sutton a place in the play-offs.
After an impressive opening day defeat of Swindon, Harrogate have found success harder to come by apart from on their previous trip to the South East when they won 2-0 at Gillingham, and Tuesday night's Papa Johns defeat at Hartlepool was their third league and cup defeat in a row, coming three days after a heavy loss at home to Newport. However they were busy this week as the transfer deadline loomed, adding four players to their squad including striker Dior Angus, signed from Wrexham but previously with Barrow, and winger Josh Coley from Exeter, the winger having previously played against U's at National League level for Maidenhead. They also added winger Sam Folarin and striker Danny Grant on loan from Middlesbrough and Huddersfield respectively.
Harrogate are likely to be without Will Smith, Max Wright and George Thomson, while skipper Josh Falkingham limped off in Tuesday's game at Hartlepool and is one of several players on whom a late check will be made, Alex Pattison, impressive against U's last season, being another.
Sutton also added to the squad in midweek, with goalkeeper Lewis Ward, centre back Aaron Pierre and striker Charley Kendall all arriving at the VBS and Kendall having a brief run-out towards the end of the encouraging Papa Johns Trophy win against Chelsea's Under 21s. Pierre is unlikely to feature on Saturday as he builds up his match fitness, and Sam Hart, who suffered a hip injury six minutes in to his first appearance of the season on Wednesday, will also be missing but Omar Bugiel is back in full training after being out for three weeks.
Saturday's referee is Neil Hair, who is in his fifth EFL season and last refereed U's in the Papa Johns Trophy at home to Wimbledon last season.
Tickets for the game are still available on line by clicking here for Sutton supporters and here for Harrogate supporters. Prices are £20 for adults, £14 for concessions and £6 for juniors, with Under 12 tickets free if bought in conjunction with an adult or concession ticket. There is a £5 addition for a stand seat. Tickets are on sale at the ground on the day, but with a £2 increase on the above prices - tickets bought on line, even on the day of the game, are not subject to the same increase.
The Sutton fanzone will be open from 12 noon, and the Harrogate fanzone from 1.30pm, while we are still endeavouring to park last season's car park permit holders, but would urge anyone wanting a space to get to the ground early. There will be NO access after 2.00pm and NO departures from car park until 5.30pm, so if you anticipate arriving after 2.00 or need to leave straight after the game you will need to park elsewhere, either in surrounding side streets or the Gibson Road car park next to the Holiday Inn which is about a 15 minute walk away.
A reminder that home supporters are now able to enter the bar from the ground at half time, with the new passageway from the Players' Bar to the stadium, between the main stand and the snack bar, OPEN from 3.30pm to gain access to the bar, and you can use the same door to go back out. There will be no access to this route from the MBA Lounge, and initial admission to the ground must still be through the turnstiles.
A match programme can be ordered here, price £3 plus postage, to be sent out after the game, with the cover drawing attention to the game being our nominated game in support of the #HerGameToo campaign, with more details here.
If you can't get to the game you can listen to a live audio commentary through our iFollow service, with a match pass priced at £2.50 although monthly passes (£4.49) and annual passes (£45) are available. Click here to buy a pass.
Tickets are on sale on Saturday for our forthcoming league visits to Stevenage and Swindon, with further information on pricing here. We also now have tickets available for the Papa Johns Trophy game at Leyton Orient on Tuesday 20 September (kick off 7pm), and these will also be on sale on Saturday, priced £10 for adults, £5 for ages 65 and over, and £1 for Under 18s.