The two sides have already met in the league this season, with Accrington Stanley winning back in August.
Harrogate Town manager Simon Weaver says his team are “more aware” of Accrington’s strengths going into the game tomorrow and says it is a crucial game to win so Accrington Stanley don’t become a “mental obstacle” for his side.
“It’s more of a case of doing it for ourselves and making sure we put it to bed mentally because you don’t want a team to suddenly become a mental obstacle moving forwards. It was one under par first half that we were lousy in but tactically we feel more solid,
“They actually had a way of working where they split at the back from goal kicks, tried to suck you on then hit over the top and they got it up to the front two quite quickly.
“We’re more aware of their strengths now and hopefully we can nullify them, and you always have to bring energy though against Accrington, that’s for sure.” Weaver said.
Town have been in fine domestic form lately, losing just one of their last five games and winning three of them. They will be looking to carry this form over to the EFL Trophy where a win will guarantee their qualification into the knockout rounds of the competition.
Weaver acknowledged the importance of the competition but admitted there may be some rotation due to their busy schedule.
“There’ll be a few changes to the lineup, lads who have played a lot of minutes recently will be having a little bit of respite, but we haven’t underplayed the importance of tomorrow because we need to do well in that competition.
“It brings in revenue and carries on momentum and progression moving forwards, so we’ve emphasised the importance of another good performance and we’re trying to build a powerful mindset” Weaver said.
For the players, the EFL Trophy provides League 1 and 2 clubs with a good chance to play at Wembley when the final comes around in April.
Following on from his success with Harrogate Town at Wembley in the National League Playoff-Final in 2020, club captain Josh Falkingham says the EFL Trophy is a “huge opportunity” to play at Wembley again.
“We had real good success at Wembley, the memories it can give you and not just the memories but lifting a trophy is massive. It doesn’t really happen. It’s not a thing that happens to everyone in football.
“I’ve been lucky to achieve some promotions and win some silverware myself and two of the times when I did that, it was at the national stadium which was incredible.
“The EFL Trophy is a huge opportunity as a footballer. A huge opportunity to maybe make it to the final and allow you to win another bit of silverware and that feeling is incredible so we’re pushing as far as possible and we’ll see where it takes us,” said Falkingham.
