Cheltenham Town will face South-West neighbours Swindon Town at the EV Charger Points Stadium on Monday in the final game of 2025. Form Cheltenham currently find themselves in a rich vein of form having won three and drawn one in their last four league fixtures. Overcoming the likes of Barrow, Shrewsbury Town and Monday’s opponents Swindon Town. Out of the last ten games, Cheltenham have […]
Cheltenham Town will face South-West neighbours Swindon Town at the EV Charger Points Stadium on Monday in the final game of 2025.
Cheltenham currently find themselves in a rich vein of form having won three and drawn one in their last four league fixtures.
Overcoming the likes of Barrow, Shrewsbury Town and Monday’s opponents Swindon Town.
Out of the last ten games, Cheltenham have picked up 19 points from a possible 30 which places them third in the League Two form table; a remarkable turnaround and a testament to the work gaffer Steve Cotterill has put in since returning to his boyhood club.
A win on Monday could see them rise from 18th place to 13th and put them in the conversation as dark horses for the play-offs.
Swindon Town continue to thrive since the arrival of the experienced manager Ian Holloway.
In the last four games, they have lost as many games as they have won but remain strong title contenders this season with only Bromley and league leaders Walsall above them.
Swindon are set to face a challenging set of January fixtures and will want to continue mounting the pressure on those above them by picking up a win against their local rivals on Monday.
This fixture has always been seen as a game of importance for those residing in the South-west, with both fanbases seeking the bragging rights for the season.
These sides met earlier this month in the league, with Cheltenham taking all three points in a 0-1 away win courtesy of an Ethon Archer screamer -which ultimately put an end to Swindon’s unbeaten run of eight games.
Since 2011, in League Two, Cheltenham have won five and drawn three with Swindon picking up two wins.
Swindon fans will be thankful for an away fixture at Cheltenham this time around as they have not beaten Cheltenham at home since 2012.
Brought in on a two-month contract, Hakeeb Adelakun has made a tidy start to what could be a short career as a Cheltenham Town player.
Adelakun has already proven that he can find the net in this league, having scored nine goals and bagging seven assists in 23/24 for Doncaster Rovers.
He would follow-up his impressive form in the same league just a year later with Salford City, boasting 13 goals and three assists in 24/25.
Adelakun’s playstyle is one that can evidently find goals but beneath that there is an unselfish side that compliments his game and makes him a top striker in the EFL.
He often drops in front of the oppositions defence, servicing the ball out wide to the wingers who will operate in more space due to centre-backs marking Adelakun; creating opportunities both on and off the ball.
It was a fairly slow start for Adelakun at first, but the vision was always there.
Cotterill found a way to ease the player in, upping his gametime every match until he was ready to feature more commonly in fixtures.
Even though goals did not happen straight away given his past record, he would continue to put in shifts off the ball and opted to help set up others instead of himself as previously mentioned.
Adelakun has now scored a goal against Barrow and a goal and an assist on Boxing Day against Shrewsbury Town, giving opposition really food for thought when facing Cheltenham.
One reason for Swindon’s recent success is a squad built across age groups amongst the squad, striking a dynamic balance between young and hungry players and seasoned veterans of the EFL.
The glaringly obvious choice would be the in-form striker Aaron Drinan; who is enjoying a phenomenal start to the campaign with 11 goals and an assist.
That being said, a football team will often have a ‘bogey player’, someone who always finds a way to score against a certain team regardless of their current form – Ollie Palmer is one of those players for Cheltenham.
In the last five meetings against Cheltenham in all competitions, Palmer scored in four of those matches with two different clubs.
He registered two goals and an assist for AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup, and a goal apiece in three separate 1-0 wins for Crawley Town.
Palmer is a EFL journeyman in the best possible way, playing for several teams across multiple leagues; stamping his mark in many of them.
A classic striker who utilises his 6ft 5 frame to his advantage, out-muscling defenders and burying the ball into the net at any given opportunity
Regardless of what form Palmer is in, he has proven time and time again that he can cause many iterations of Cheltenham’s defence serious issues and there is every chance he adds to his tally on Monday.
