Crawley Town will look to end a five-game losing run in all competitions when they welcome Shrewsbury Town to Broadfield Stadium for Saturday’s League One contest.
Like their hosts, Shrewsbury are also looking to end a poor run of form after losing their last seven competitive matches.
Match preview
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Crawley are under new management after Rob Elliot recently left his role as Gateshead boss to replace Scott Lindsey, who opted to leave Broadfield Stadium for MK Dons.
Elliot took over a side that had failed to win any of their previous seven matches in all competitions (D2, L5).
Unfortunately for the Crawley boss, he is yet to spark an upturn in fortunes, having seen his first two matches end in defeat.
The 38-year-old oversaw a 1-0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers in his first experience as an EFL manager, before his side fell to a narrow loss in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy clash with AFC Wimbledon despite staging an impressive fightback.
Ronan Darcy, Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Josh Flint all got on the scoresheet to wipe out a three-goal deficit, but their hard work proved to be for nothing as Wimbledon’s Joe Pigott scored a 96th-minute winner to condemn Crawley to a 4-3 defeat.
The Reds, who are down in 21st place in League One, will have to quickly pick themselves up for Saturday’s contest as they go in search of their first league win since beating Cambridge United on August 17.
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Like their hosts, Shrewsbury have experienced a difficult start to the season, having won one, drawn two and lost seven of their 10 league games this season.
The Shrews gave up a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Bolton Wanderers in their most recent league fixture, with the result leaving them in 22nd place and three points adrift of safety.
Shrewsbury then experienced a difficult outing in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy clash against Birmingham City, falling to a heavy 4-0 defeat in a home game where they shipped three first-half goals.
Paul Hurst knows that he is under pressure to turn the tide, with Shrewsbury desperate to claim all three points in their first competitive meeting with Crawley since March 2014.
Despite their poor form, the hosts may fancy their chances of taking something from Saturday’s fixture, having avoided defeat in each of their last five head-to-head meetings (W2, D3).
If they can clinch all three points, it would represent Shrewsbury’s first away league win since beating Port Vale 2-1 in March.
Crawley Town League One form:
Crawley Town form (all competitions):
Shrewsbury Town League One form:
Shrewsbury Town form (all competitions):
Team News
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Crawley goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott is currently away on international duty with Ghana, while his fellow shot-stoppers Eddie Beach and Ryan Sandford are both sidelined through injury.
As a result, the Reds were forced to sign Connal Trueman on an emergency loan from Millwall earlier this week, and he is now set to make his second Crawley appearance after featuring in the EFL Trophy defeat to Wimbledon.
Defender Joy Mukena will have to be assessed after he was forced off in the second half of last Saturday’s league clash against Wycombe.
As for the visitors, Hurst will be unable to call upon midfielder Jordan Shipley, who sustained an Achilles injury against Bolton last weekend.
Shrewsbury striker Joshua Kayode remains unavailable for selection as he continues to work his way back from a calf injury.
Hurst is likely to make a number of changes from Tuesday’s EFL Trophy outing, with Mal Benning, Jordan Rossiter, Funso Ojo and George Lloyd all pushing for starting berths.
Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Trueman; Mullarkey, Barker, Flint; Forster, Ibrahim, Williams, Kelly; Quitirna, Darcy; Swan
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Savin; Winchester, Nsiala, M. Feeney, Benning; Rossiter, Ojo; Gilliead, Castledine, Sagoe Jr; Lloyd
Crawley and Shrewsbury will both be desperate to claim maximum points in Saturday’s contest, but with the two teams lacking in confidence, we think that they could cancel one another out in a score draw at Broadfield Stadium.
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