Preview: Crawley Town vs. Harrogate Town - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors are currently flying high in League Two after an impressive start to the campaign, sitting in third place, but they will be looking to respond to having their unbeaten start ended at the weekend.

Match preview

Crawley Town were able to defeat Colchester United at the weekend with a goal from Jack Payne helping to secure the 1-0 victory for his team.

That result follows an impressive win against Carlisle United in their previous fixture, with John Yems seeing his team begin to build some momentum for themselves.

This is the first time this season that Crawley have managed consecutive victories, which is exactly what the club needed after a heavy 6-1 loss against Charlton Athletic in the EFL Trophy group stage.

After a midtable finish last season, the Reds are hoping to build and challenge for a playoff place this time around, and a positive result against Harrogate Town could provide that, as it would put them just one point behind the visitors.

The recent performance from Crawley marked only the second time they have kept a clean sheet in this campaign, with the defensive side of the game having been a problem early on.

They have already leaked 10 goals in the league, having conceded six goals in one match on two separate occasions, which is something that Yems will have to address.

This could prove to be something that the visitors will look to exploit though, as Harrogate have started the season well in terms of scoring goals, having already found the back of the net 13 times in the league alone.

The two teams have only met twice before, which took place last season and Crawley were unable to beat the Sulphurites, with a draw and a loss taking place, meaning they will need to make history in order to keep their current run going.

Despite the impressive manner in which Simon Weaver's men have started the campaign, they have failed to win their last two games and they actually head into this fixture on the back of their first defeat in the league.

Harrogate will be hoping for an immediate response to the 2-0 loss against Port Vale, while the fixture before that saw them battle out a 2-2 draw with Newport County.

The Sulphurites have actually only managed one victory in their previous four games in League Two, and some consistency will now be the key if they want to maintain their impressive early form.

Crawley Town League Two form:

Crawley Town form (all competitions):

Harrogate Town League Two form:

Harrogate Town form (all competitions):

Team News

Both Ashley Nadesan and Kwesi Appiah were able to feature from the bench against Colchester on Saturday and could prove to be options once again for Yems on Tuesday night.

Tom Dallison will look to help his team to another clean sheet after impressing in central defence following his return from injury against Carlisle United, while Payne will continue to be a creative outlet for the Reds.

Harrogate shall be without Jack Diamond for the fixture with Crawley due to the fact he was sent off during their defeat to Port Vale, which made it a day to truly forget for the club.

Weaver's misery was only made worse by the fact that both Alex Pattison and Lewis Page had to withdraw during the game due to injury, with both men now being unavailable for the midweek fixture.

Crawley Town possible starting lineup:

Morris; Francomb, Dallison, Lynch, Tsaroulla; Powell, Hessenthaler, Payne, Ferry; Ashford, Nichols

Harrogate Town possible starting lineup:

Oxley; Hall, Burrell, McArdle, Martin; Taylor, Falkingham, Thomson, Benning; Muldoon, Armstrong

We say: Crawley Town 1-2 Harrogate Town

Even though Crawley Town have improved drastically in recent performances, Harrogate Town will provide a stern test for them on Tuesday if they want to keep that run of form going.

The visitors are performing brilliantly in the early moments of the season and have been particularly strong in the attack, which is something that the Reds might struggle to deal with.