Harrogate Town v Scunthorpe United: Everything you need to know about the Iron

Here's everything you need to know about the Iron ahead of Tuesday's League Two contest.

The opposition

Scunthorpe currently sit 23rd in the table having won three times in 12 outings thus far. They will kick-off the game eight points behind Harrogate, who are 12th, though they have played two games less. The Iron saw three fixtures postponed in late October and early November due to a high number of Covid-19 cases among their playing and coaching staff.

They made a slow start to the season, winning only once in 13 matches in all competitions and picking up just four points from the first 24 on offer.

Neil Cox's men have however fared somewhat better in recent weeks, claiming back-to-back away victories at Oldham and Port Vale before drawing at home to Morecambe.

United's real issue has been in front of goal, where they have netted just eight League Two goals, while shipping 19 at the other end. Town have scored 15 and conceded 14.

The Iron's shots-per-game ratio in league fixtures stands at 8.8, significantly worse than Harrogate's current total of 13.4 (according to www.whoscored.com).

Their pass completion rate thus far is 66%, slightly less than Town's 66.7%, but the Lincolnshire outfit's disciplinary record is marginally better. They have picked up 17 yellow cards and one red, while the Sulphurites have been shown 18 cautions and suffered one dismissal.

Kevin Van Veen and Ryan Loft leading the Scunthorpe scoring charts. Both men have two goals to their name in 2020/21. Dutch striker Van Veen is however set to miss his team's trip to North Yorkshire through injury.

Last time out

Scunthorpe suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Bolton Wanderers last Tuesday evening.

Last five

Nov 24 - Bolton Wanderers (h) L 0-1

Nov 21 - Morecambe (h) D 1-1

Nov 17 - Port Vale (a) W 1-0

Nov 14 - Oldham Athletic (a) W 2-0

Nov 10 - Mansfield (h) L 1-2 (EFL Trophy)

What they said

"I know Harrogate quite well having played against them last year in the play-off final and in the league," said Cox, former assistant boss at Notts County.

"They're a really good, well-organised team and they're fit and strong. They've had a good start in League Two and I think they'll be disappointed with their FA Cup result at the weekend.

"I went to watch it and for the first 65 minutes, there wasn't a lot in the game. It'll be a tough test for us and we need to sure that we play forward and quickly and try to put them under pressure."

Team news

Iron strikers Van Veen and Olufela Olomola are definitely out through injury, as is left-back Junior Brown. Attacker Aaron Jarvis is a doubt, so too midfielder Jake Taylor. The defensive duo of Harrison McGahey and Manny Onariase should be okay to play.

Previous meeting

The sides have never played each other before.

Bookies' odds

Harrogate 5/6

Scunthorpe 16/5

Draw 12/5.

Referee

Paul Howard (London) has refereed Town already this term, sending skipper Josh Falkingham off for two bookable offences in their 2-1 defeat at Newport County on October 31.

He has dished out no fewer than 38 yellow cards in 12 matches thus far.