The Iron head to the Pirelli Stadium for their first League One clash of the season against Burton Albion.
The Brewers will take on Mark Robins’ side in their first ever game at this level following their title winning campaign last season, despite losing manager Gary Rowett mid-season.They are now guided by former Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who took over last November, securing the Brewers’ promotion to the third tier.
Burton have added well over the summer, bringing in former Iron Mark Duffy as well as tricky winger Zeli Ismail and Norwich ‘keeper Remi Matthews all on loan.
They will hope to use home advantage against the Iron to get their season off to a great start, while Hasselbaink will be looking to increase his growing managerial reputation.
Team News
Mark Robins has not had too many injury worries going into the new campaign and will have a near full strength squad to pick from for the trip to Staffordshire.
Hakeeb Adelakun had been one of the concerns over pre-season, but he has returned to training and is in contention for a place in the squad.
Dave Syers is the only player unavailable. He had a hip problem scanned on Thursday.
The Iron boss’ biggest problem will be deciding what combination to opt for up front, with all of his strikers in good form over pre-season and amongst the goals.
Last Time
The Iron won a vital battle at the top of League Two the last time the two sides met back in 2013/14, with Paddy Madden the hero as United secured a 1-0 win at Glanford Park.
In a cagey match between the promotion rivals, the Iron struck with their first shot on target to take a massive stride towards their eventual promotion.
Gary McSheffrey had a chance to make it even more comfortable for Russ Wilcox’s side, but he saw his penalty saved by Rob Lainton in the Burton goal.
The result extended the Iron’s unbeaten run to 22 matches and helped to move them up to 2nd in the table with just eight games to play.
It was only the second ever time that United had played the Brewers, with the other clash coming earlier in the season and saw a 2-2 draw between the sides.
The League One curtain raiser will be only the third time the two teams have ever met, and the Iron have yet to lose to the Staffordshire outfit.
One to Watch
Mark Duffy is someone that Iron fans will know very well, with the winger playing over 100 times for the club between 2010 and 2013.
The 29-year-old finds himself on loan at the Brewers from Birmingham, where former Burton boss Gary Rowett is now in charge.
The winger has been out of favour at his parent club though and has moved to Burton on loan until January in search of first team football.
Duffy joined the Iron back in 2010 from Morecambe for an undisclosed fee and enjoyed a successful spell at Glanford Park, before moving to then-Championship side Doncaster Rovers.
Despite impressing at his new club, he was unable to prevent them from relegation to League One, which saw the winger trigger a clause in his contract that allowed him to move on.
Birmingham snapped Duffy up, but he found game time hard to come by, and so he has joined League One newcomers Burton on loan.
Stadium & Travel Information
Away supporters are housed in the Coors East Stand Terrace as well as the Main Stand, offering seating for travelling fans.
The Pirelli Stadium is relatively modern and has been the home of Burton Albion since 2005, with the Iron only playing once here in their history.
Supporters driving from Scunthorpe should follow the M1 Southbound, until junction 28 when turning off onto the A38 sign-posted Derby/Matlock.
Follow the A38 for 25 miles before reaching the A5121 which, after following for around two miles, will take you to the Pirelli Stadium on Princess Way.