Milton Keynes v Crewe Alex 25-26 Preview - Buckle Up!

Uh oh. After a dismal defeat to a workmanlike side in Bromley, the last thing you need is a trip to one of the heavy hitters. But that's what's up for the Alex as they head south to Milton Keynes, looking to try and put the sour taste of that defeat behind them. But they do so with big question marks over the system, the manager and the future yet again.

Here is my preview of their visit to the no doubt packed and raucous Stadium MK:

Now What?

The defeat last week could be written off fairly quickly by the management as a bad choice of system and a one off. But now they face having to pick a team without Josh March leading the line. None of the replacements fill you with much confidence because they are vastly different players to him. Will it be Tezgel, who's shown several times he's not a lone forward? Will it be Louis Moult, who has looked way off the pace in his sub cameos and hardly fantastic in the EFL Trophy? Will it be both of them in a new 2 man forward line? Or could they go with neither and they start with a false 9 like Lankester? Could it be forgotten man Omar Bogle, fresh off his autograph session on Wednesday?

How they even score without the player who's scored/created almost half their league goals this season I don't know. They will surely have to adapt their style of play as March's willingness to run the channels and chase lost causes is not something any of their currently available options can do.

Competitive

The one hope I have for this game is that much of the Alex's strength under Lee Bell has been built on their strong away record. They have lost just 14 of their last 52 away games, which is an incredible record. They only lost 6 games away from home in each of the last 2 seasons and this season it has been largely the same.

Their 2 defeats were both 1-0s and they haven't lost an away game in which they've scored since Boxing Day. That record will be sorely tested against a tough MK side, but the Alex have shown they can stand up to the pressure of being in a hostile stadium.

A hammering

The above being said, my confidence hasn't been this low for a game in a long while. Given all the bad blood that last weeks defeat and the March injury has generated, the Alex are up against it. But it's in the opposition that I worry the most. MK seem to have finally clicked into gear and come into this on the back of 3 straight wins, scoring 9 goals in the process, including 3 against high flying Gillingham and 4 at Bristol Rovers last week.

If MK turn up in the mood, this could be an absolute hammering.

Pressure On/Off

On the other hand however, the pressure is weirdly both on and off Lee Bell going into this game. It's on because fans are angry after the self inflicted issues and defeat last week against Bromley and a defeat here would make it 6 losses from their last 9. It would pile a lot of expectation going into the Grimsby home game, plus the Doncaster FA Cup game. Looking ahead, struggling Shrewsbury on November 8th could be high noon for the management should their next 3 major fixtures(ignoring Burton in the Trophy) all go sideways.

But in a strange way, the pressure is also off in this one. In an away game where there will be a few hundred fans at most, where people aren't going or tuning in expecting a big performance, could be just the ticket. It will allow them to go into their comfort zone of defensive, low block, counter attack football. It will even probably allow them to play their favoured 3 at the back system.

In a game where expectations are low, it could be the perfect time to respond.

Ref Watch

Craig Hicks

Hicks has been around for a number of years, but has never struck me as a particularly card happy or notable ref. Here's hoping that remains the same, he keeps his cards in his pocket and we aren't talking about him at 5pm tomorrow.

2025-25 Record: 8 games(3 League Two, 2 League One, 1 EFL Trophy, 1 National League, 1 League Cup), 22 yellows

Last Game: Barnet 1-1 Brighton, EFL Trophy, 30th September 2025, 5 yellows

Crewe Alex Record: 3-0-8, 19 yellows, 1 red

Injuries/Absences

MK

MK are likely to be missing several key players in Aaron Collins, Gethin Jones, Scott Hogan, Kane Wilson, Joe Tomlinson. That right there would form the backbone of a top L2 team. It shows their ridiculous depth and quality.

Crewe Alex

The Alex's injury list remains short, but Josh March starts his 8-10 week road to recovery. Jack Powell is also out with a recurrence of his groin injury, but Matus Holicek has surprisingly been declared available for this game. Omar Bogle is also back doing public appearances, so could his return to the squad be imminent also?

Team

As usual, there is what I'd do, and what Lee Bell will likely do. I think he's going to stick to 3 at the back, thinking he has to nullify MK's attacking threats. But as I've mentioned, he doesn't have the CBs to do it. Connolly and Golding in a back 3 is a scary prospect and we saw how shaky they looked last week against a much slower and deliberate Bromley team. I do think we could see a slight tweak however. I think Jay Mingi, who didn't even feature against Liverpool on Tuesday, could start at RWB, with Billington moving inside to RCB. Golding shifts into the middle and Demetriou slides to LCB.

In the middle they'll go with Sanders and Thomas, with O'Reilly and Lankester tucked in behind what I expect to be Tezgel.

However, what I would do is revert back to 4-2-3-1. Billington partners Demetriou at CB, Hutchinson and Mingi occupy the full back spots. Thomas and Sanders go in midfield, Tezgel goes up front, with Lankester, O'Reilly and Rankine slotting in behind. It's not ideal, but that would suit them better than any back 3 would in my opinion.

The bench would remain strong, with Golding, Finney, Lunt, Moult, Agius and Holicek all having spots.

Score Prediction

I do fear the worst. 1 win can flip a season in a good way, but 1 bad defeat can do the opposite. I do fear what they will do team selection wise and I'm not confident on how they adapt to life without Josh March. Add in MK's good recent form and I think this is likely to be a fairly comfortable defeat.

Milton Keynes 3-1 Crewe Alexandra