Crawleyvs.Wycombe

The Chairboys are currently second in the League One table, seven points behind the league leaders, Birmingham City.

Match preview

Despite bowing out of the FA Cup last weekend on penalties, the visitors will take a lot of positives from their goalless draw with Preston North End, as they proved that they are capable of matching the standards of a team that are currently one division above them.

Wycombe will be hoping that will not be the case for much longer, as they continue to chase their dream of achieving automatic promotion to the second tier.

They currently have a four-point advantage over Wrexham in the race for automatic promotion, and with just two defeats in their last 10 league games, they are in good form heading into the last few months of the season.

There were fears that their momentum would be disrupted by the departure of head coach Matt Bloomfield in January, as he departed for Luton Town to replace the outgoing Rob Edwards.

The visitors are unbeaten in the league since Bloomfield left the club, with Sam Grace helping the team earn eight points during his interim spell in charge before Mike Dodds took over earlier this month.

The defeat on penalties at Deepdale was the first game of the Dodds era at Wycombe, and following their exit from the FA Cup, they will switch their focus back to the challenge of earning promotion under their new boss.

Dodds has inherited a team full of goals, as they lead the division in scoring with an impressive 55 goals in 29 games.

They also have the league's top scorer in Richard Kone, who has netted 16 goals so far in an excellent season for the man who was playing for Athletic Newham in the Essex Senior League just last season.

The Chairboys have won their last four games against Crawley, including twice this season - with Wycombe securing a 1-0 win in the reverse league fixture, as well as a 2-1 success in the EFL Trophy clash between the two sides.

Wycombe will feel confident that they can get another win this weekend, as they come up against a Crawley side currently in the relegation zone in League One.

The Red Devils have conceded 53 times in the league this season, with only Cambridge United and Peterborough United conceding more times than the hosts.

Rob Elliot's side recorded just their second win in 11 matches in midweek, as they won 3-1 at home to Stevenage - a result that moved them to within three points of safety.

Crawley have found it difficult to win at home all season and that was only their fourth triumph on home soil this season in the league, as they improved on the second-worst home record in the division.

This weekend they face the toughest challenge possible, however, as Wycombe have the best away record in the league, having claimed 31 points from their 15 away league matches.

Therefore, Elliot's men will have to be at their best if they are to get anything from this clash, but with a new manager in charge at Wycombe, this could be as good a time as any to get this fixture out of the way.

Crawley Town League One form:

D

L

W

L

L

W

Crawley Town form (all competitions):

Wycombe Wanderers League One form:

D

L

W

D

W

D

Wycombe Wanderers form (all competitions):

W

W

D

W

D

L

Team News

The hosts are expected to be without both Joy Mukena and Josh Flint for this clash due to injuries.

In other bad news for Crawley, Toby Mullarkey is set to miss this match due to a back problem that has ruled him out of action in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be without Kieran Sadlier, who is still recovering from a hernia operation he had in November.

Their top scorer Kone missed the trip to Deepdale in the FA Cup, and if he is unable to play this weekend, then Beryly Lubala is expected to retain his place in attack for the visitors.

Elsewhere, Jasper Pattenden is expected to be out due to a hamstring injury, and Jack Grimmer is a doubt for the visitors, having not featured in the matchday squad in recent weeks due to injury.

Crawley Town possible starting lineup:

Wollacott; Barker, Conroy, Radcliffe; Swan, Anderson, Ibrahim, Camara, Forster; Hepburn-Murphy, Showunmi

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Norris; Harvie, Bradley, Low, Skura; Leahy, Bakinson, Onyedinma, Lowry, McCleary; Lubala

We say: Crawley Town 0-2 Wycombe Wanderers

Wycombe have been excellent this season, and we cannot look past them in this weekend's match.

Written by

Tom Humphrey

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