Crewe Alex v Salford City 24/25 Preview - Goals

This fixture, whether it's in Manchester or Crewe, always brings goals. An incredible 30 have been scored between the 2 teams in just 6 matchups. Unfortunately though, Salford have the edge, with 4 wins to the Alex's 2 and 17 goals scored to the Alex's 13. But in every single game, there has been 3 or more goals and only 1 clean sheet recorded. So, should be a pretty entertaining game right? Well, let's have a look in my preview:

Low Scoring

Erm, maybe not. Salford, without the likes of Matt Smith or Callum Hendry, are finding it very tough to score this season. They've only found the net 7 times to date, which is the 2nd lowest tally in the division. This is despite proven performers like Cole Stockton and Hakeeb Adelakun in the squad. They'll undoubtedly be a dangerous side, but this doesn't look like the Salford of years gone by.

Clean Sheet Streak

The last time the Alex kept 5 straight home league clean sheets was back in 2002-03. Well, this version of the team have the opportunity to do just that, with their current streak sitting at 4. They probably won't get a better chance to do that either, with a goal shy Salford as the team standing in the way of matching that run. It would be a great achievement if they can pull it off.

Robinson Rat

I can't not mention the odious little twerp that is Karl Robinson. He seems to have calmed down a touch after his frequent outbursts and suspensions in the past, but one thing is for sure, he knows how to beat the Alex. He run against the Alex stands at 8-0-3, including 6-1 and 5-0 wins with MK Dons and a 6-0 win at Gresty Road with Oxford. Oh and of course, the 3-2 win with Salford last season. It would be very satisfying to get one over on him.

Tricky on the Road

Salford will be tough to knock off though. Through 4 away games, they've only lost once, that being to Newport in their most recent trip. They've been to Bradford, Chesterfield and Tranmere and come back with a share of the spoils. Whilst they seem a bit more boom and bust at home, with 3 wins and 3 losses, away from home they seem to have found a level of consistency. The Alex will need to be on their guard.

Short

The Alex will be looking to find a way to win this game and that has been made tougher by the injuries to Hemmings and now Lankester. Whilst we'll hopefully see both Bogle and Thomas return to the squad, neither will be in a position to start. That means they'll go into this game with Tracey once again leading the line and the likes of Tabiner, Holicek and the wing backs doing their best to offer support. Can they get it done, or will the Alex's weakened front line come undone?

Ref Watch

Sunny Singh Gill

Gill is well known around the EFL after his rise through the ranks as the first Soouth Asian ref to take charge of a Premier League game. He's only done 2 Crewe games, 1 being the 0-0 draw at Bradford in 22-23 and then last season's first leg of the play-offs against Doncaster.

2024/25 Record: 8 games(1 Championship, 3 League One, 1 League Two,, 1 National League, 2 League Cup), 29 yellows, 1 red

Last Game: Tranmere 0-2 Bradford, EFL League Two, 12th October 2024,

Crewe Alex Record: 0-1-1, 1 yellow

Injuries/Absences

Crewe Alex

As I mentioned above, the Alex will be hopeful of welcoming back Conor Thomas and Omar Bogle to the squad, but I'm not holding my breath. Lankester is out for 5-6 weeks and Hemmings has just started his recovery from surgery on his broken foot. Chris Long seems about a week away. Jack Powell is likely still several weeks away from being considered for the squad, but they do have Jamie Knight-Lebel back from international duty.

Salford City

The lack of media coverage makes finding their absences news tricky. But going off last week's team they put out, they could be without CB James Chester, CM Ryan Watson and Adelakun for this fixture, with Tyrese Fornah back from international duty.

Team

We're once again left wondering what else Bell can possibly do with the options he has available. Well, to start with he'll have a tricky decision to make on Jamie Knight-Lebel. He was only released from international duty on Wednesday, so he might be jet lagged and not in a condition to start.

But even if he does start, does that mean Connolly drops out? Or do they do what they did against Gillingham and shift Conway further forward after his good performance and goal last week?

Personally, that's what I'm doing. I'm moving Williams back out to LWB to make space for Knight-Lebel. If he can't go, then Billington comes in and Connolly shifts inside.

Then in midfield, I'm going with a 2 in Breckin and Sanders, with Conway and Tabiner being Tracey's support up top in something of a 3-4-2-1 system in possession and a 5-4-1 out of possession. It's not ideal in a few spots, but what else can you do at this point?

Prediction

Whilst I'm hopeful the Alex have a few more options on the bench, we can't overlook the fact that their starting XI is going to be light on firepower. That makes things tricky. My hope is that they can keel Salford at bay and snatch 1 or 2 from a set piece or moment of magic, like Conway's goal last week. So with that in mind I'll go with a narrow home win.

Crewe Alex 1-0 Salford City