The Bulls entertain rivals Yeovil Town in a First Round FA Cup match on Saturday.
The two sides are veteran giantkillers on the non-league scene, but it is the Bulls looking for the League One side's scalp to avenge the last time the sides met in the FA Cup. Back then, the non-league Yeovil won 2-1 at Edgar Street to add the Bulls to their list of kills. In the modern era since their regular jousts in the Southern League, the Bulls have won only four of twenty matches against the other home of cider. The last of those wins came in the Carling Cup in 2007, when a Lionel Ainsworth hat-trick helped the Bulls to a 4-1 win.
Much like their last Carling Cup game at Villa Park, the Bulls are likely to need to utilise their youth teamers to fill the bench on Saturday. With Tom Barkhuisen and Steven Leslie barred from playing, they will join eight others unavailable to the Bulls. Among them is former Yeovil captain Stefan Stam who, aside from Jamie Pitman, is the only current Bulls to have played for the Somerset side. With a lack of wingers available to Pitman he may opt to revert to a 4-4-2 and give Fulham loanee Richard Peniket, a scorer for the reserves in the week, a debut.
Yeovil have their own injury and eligibility problems and will be fielding goalkeeper coach Gareth Stewart for his first competitive match in nearly a year. He will be backed up by their youth team stopper with their regular starter, Marek Stech, on international duty. Stech is one of four loanees not expected to feature while a fifth, Spurs forward Jonathan Obika, is unlikely to be fit enough. Former Bulls forward Andy Williams is expected to take some part in the game after recovering from injury. Saturday would be his second outing against the Bulls, with his previous effort being a 12 minute substitute appearance for Bristol Rovers more than three years ago.
Hereford United vs Yeovil Town, Edgar Street, Saturday 12th November, 3.00pm.