Crewe Alex v Wimbledon 23/24 Preview - Big

I could probably label every game from here until the end of the season big for Crewe Alex. But this one, against one of the sides directly below them in the race for promotion, is especially big. A win here would put them 10 clear of Wimbledon with the Dons having just 6 games to go. You would be all but assuring yourself of finishing above them and given they are currently 7th, that would be huge. This is a massive game. And they need everyone from the management to the players to the fans to show up.

Sliding

Wimbledon fans must be going through some deja vu this season. Sure, they're doing much better than they were last season, but their story is still similar. Do well up until January, sell their best player, fall off in the 2nd half of the season. Now, they've managed to avoid that issue with 3 wins from 4 games before their loss to Newport, but overall it's still been tough to replace Ali Al-Hamadi.

Away Form

Wimbledon's slide has come mostly from the fact they are slipping on the road. They were 5-5-2 on the road heading into January, but in 2024 they've gone 1-2-4 away from home, dropping points against FGR, Bradford, Accrington and Doncaster. They've also lost promotion 6 pointers to Wrexham and MK Dons. Their only win came at the woefully out of form Notts County. The Dons are there for the taking for sure.

Get it Right

That being said, the Alex can only hope to get the right result if the management stop hamstringing them from the start of games. Too many times, we've been left scratching our heads at the decisions made in terms of starting XIs. And last week, we were left wondering not only why they made so many changes at the start of the game, but why they then flipped and refused to make changes as the game developed. They've got to get it right from the start in this game. And they've got to not botch their tactical changes if it comes to that.

Dirty Dons

One thing that I've always picked up from Johnnie Jackson's Wimbledon is they are a dirty team. Last season they topped the fouls committed and yellow card tables and this season, they are 1st and joint 5th is those categories respectively. They are going to make this a really unpleasant game, but I hope Bell does his homework and tells his players to make the most of Wimbledon's ill discipline. It could really work in their favour if they're smart.

Ref Watch

Darren Drysdale

Yep, it's good ol' Drysdale again for this one. Bradford fans hate him, but I thought his last Alex game at Valley Parade was a solid one to be honest. He didn't book any Alex players at least. He just needs to be strong and watch out for Wimbledon's antics.

2023/24 Record: 28 games(14 League One, 11 League Two, 1 EFL Trophy, 2 FA Cup), 103 yellows, 4 reds

Last Game: Harrogate Town 1-2 Crawley Town, League Two, 2nd March 2024, 2 yellows

Crewe Alex Record: 4-3-11, 27 yellows

Injuries/Absences

Crewe Alex

It's been a terrible few weeks. Offord gets a season ending injury on February 17th. Holicek rolls his ankle on March 9th and CBR pops his shoulder on March 12th, whilst Tabiner tweaks his quad around the same time. Not ideal and it's robbed them of all that depth they'd waited for through the winter months. That's 6 out for this game, 5 of them starters when fit.

Thankfully though, Holicek and Long seem close to returns and CBR and Tabiner will be back by the end of the season and in time for the play-offs it seems, so not all doom and gloom. But none of them will be available for this game, so they'll have push through with a thin bench lacking in depth once again.

Wimbledon

Potentially missing for the Dons are CBs Ryan Johnson and Joe Lewis, both of whom haven't played since January. Also absent recently is James Tilley, who has missed the last 2 games. Harry Pell is suspended after him booting balls into the MK Dons fans at a game a few weeks ago was caught on camera and landed him with a ban.

The biggest loss will be Omar Bugiel, who is away on international duty with Lebanon. That's a massive boost for the Alex. It'll leave them with Armani Little(4) and Josh Davison(4) as their highest scorers who are currently available. They are going to be severely lacking firepower.

Team

With injuries piling up, I don't think they have much scope to change things. But, I'll once again call for a 4-3-3 with Leigh in midfield, Billington at RB and Rowe and Tracey in winger roles either side of Nevitt.

However, I fully expect Bell to recall Kirk, put Rowe in the number 10 role and keep Cooney at RB and go with the 4-2-3-1 system which hasn't worked all season. Personally, if they are set on doing this, then switching Kirk and Rowe around and having Rowe on the LW and Kirk behind Nevitt would be preferable to me.

However, if they do desperately want to play 4-2-3-1, then why not roll the dice and give Callum Agius a go in the number 10 role? He's in great form for the U18s and U21s, so why not try him and see how he does? I know it's a risk in a big game like this and I doubt they do it, but I'd at least like to see him get some game time going forward. I think he's earned it and it would be useful to blood him a bit before next season when he steps into the first team squad more regularly.

Score Prediction

There is no reason not to get at least a draw from this game. At least. The Alex very much need a good result though in order to set them up for the 2 games in quick succession over the Easter weekend. A win would put them within touching distance of securing a play-off spot, as I don't think it'll take many more points than 70 to see them finish in there. And with Wimbledon depleted in a few areas, I'm getting worryingly optimistic for this one.

It'll be a tight one and I expect Wimbledon to make it a stop-start, niggly affair. But if the Alex can get their noses in front first and not totally panic as they did against Morecambe, then it could be tough for the lacking in firepower Dons to get back into it.

Crewe Alexandra 1-0 AFC Wimbledon