Notts County v Crewe Alex 25-26 Preview - Make or Break

I mentioned it in the now obsolete Barnet preview, but I hope you aren't too attached to 3pm kick offs and really enjoy lunch time and evening starts. Because the Alex are going to have plenty of them in the coming weeks. Just 2 of their next 8 games will kick off at 3pm and they are both at home. Their next 6 away games, will kick off at either 12:30(x3) or 7:45(x2). You'll have to wait until March against Bristol Rovers for their next Saturday 3pm away game.

Whilst all these moved for TV games are good news for those who are unable to attend many away games, it is terrible for the hard core fans who go every week. You have my sympathies travelling Alex fans. Anyway, here is my preview of their first 'moved for sky' game of the 2026 at Notts County:

Penalties

The Alex's penalty streak against Notts County is almost comical now. In 4 of their last 5 meetings, the Alex have been awarded spot kicks against County. The scorers have been Courtney Baker-Richardson, Elliott Nevitt, Ryan Cooney and Josh March. What price on them getting another in this game to extend the streak I wonder?

Consistency

The Alex in the last 2 seasons have managed unbeaten away runs of 3, 3, 6, 4, 6, 4 and 4 at various points. This season, their longest run has been 2, and they were the 2 wins they managed in August. Since then, their away results have gone LDLWLDLWLL. Now, I look at this 2 ways.

The negative of course is that they haven't gone more than 1 game without a defeat, meaning they've been unable to string consistent performances together on the road. But the positive is that aside from the 2 games between Christmas and New Year where they were heavily depleted, they haven't lost back to back away games either.

They've ranged from the highest highs(Salford, Fleetwood, Tranmere) to the lowest lows(Barrow, Newport). What they need is more middle of the road performances. Dull as dishwater draws or even narrow wins. I'm not saying I expect them in this game or one at Bromley on Tuesday. But they need to find some consistency in their away performances sooner rather than later. So why not start now?

Sliding?

Notts County have had a decent enough return to L2. 14th in 23-24 was ok enough given the change of manager and last season, they finished 6th. But despite that, their home form has been an issue. They lost 9 games in 23-24 and 8 games last season. This season they've done better, having only lost 3 home games after 12 played.

But the concern for them is that they've won just 1 of their last 5 at Meadow Lane. You get the sense that some natives are getting a touch nervous, especially because a late season home slide is very much in their DNA. They went 2-2-6 in the last 10 at home in 23-24 and 1-1-5 in their last 7 last season.

In their last 5 at home this season, they've only led for 9 minutes of time over those games. They've kept 1 clean sheet, have scored 5 and conceded 7 and taken 1 point from Harrogate and Accrington, with the point against Harrogate coming from a 93rd minute penalty. It feels like the Alex might be visiting at an opportune moment.

In numbers

Even despite the fact this game is on TV, I expect Alex fans to travel in numbers. Last season they took over 1,200, their 2nd largest following behind only Port Vale. I also expect large numbers to go because their next 6 away games are all mammoth journeys, each clocking in at over 200 miles there and back.

To be fair to the Alex, they mostly have done ok in front of big contingents of their travelling fans this season. They are 2-1-1 in games where they took over 800 fans, beating Salford and Tranmere, drawing with Oldham and only narrowly losing to Walsall. As this will be their last big away crowd until Shrewsbury in late March, let's hope they can make it count.

Make or Break

Whilst the Alex aren't in a bad position, they aren't in a brilliant one either. They managed just 9 points from a possible 15 across 5 very winnable home games between early December and now. And they've been unable to pick up more away points to offset that.

It means that they are 10th, currently 3 points off 7th, and have played 1 more game than most of the teams around them. The top half/top 7 is stacked with tough teams who are all loading up for a concerted play-off push. If the Alex want to hang with those teams, they now need to pick up results from places where they wouldn't normally target draws and wins. Like Notts County at Meadow Lane. Like a Tuesday night in London at the league leaders.

Again, I'm not expecting a win or even a draw from this game. But if they want to force their way through a congested chasing pack and into an even more congested top 7, they'll need a few surprise results here and there. They've done that in the past. Last season, they went 3-7-2 away from home against sides in the top half. They'll potentially need to do so again, as 2 defeats in these next 2 will see them potentially facing a daunting gap to the teams above them.

Ref Watch

Isaac Searle

Don't recognise the name? That's probably because this is yet another brand new ref in the EFL. This will be just his 3rd ever League Two game, having done Walsall v Shrewsbury and Cheltenham v Swindon back in December. This will be easily his biggest crowd though, so I hope he handles the occasion well.

2025-26 Record: 19 games(2 League Two, 1 FA Cup, 2 EFL Trophy, 9 National League, 1 National League Cup, 4 Premier League 2), 97 yellows, 3 reds

Last Game: Cheltenham Town 0-2 Swindon Town, EFL League Two, Monday 29th December 2025, 2 yellows

Crewe Alex Record: N/A

Injuries/Absences

Notts County

County were missing a number of players at Crawley last week. Rod McDonald, Jayden Luker, Matty Palmer and Scott Robertson were all out, which would leave them light, especially in midfield.

Crewe Alex

Conor Thomas was described by Lee Bell as being close to a return, but weeks(plural) was used for all the other injured players, which isn't ideal as the Alex head into a very busy period where 3 out of the next 4 Tuesdays contain games.

Team

Same again yes? That is assuming there are no new issues, which given 2-3 players are less than 100% fit and Demetriou is nursing an increasingly debilitating knee problem isn't guaranteed.

As for the bench it'll be the same thin group, but questions have to be asked about the status of Jay Mingi, who hasn't been in the squad since Newport and Louis Moult, who was on the bench against Barrow didn't play in the U21s in midweek.

Score Prediction

Can the Alex go to Meadow Lane and get a result. Yes, they can. Will they? I'm not so sure. With a fully fit squad and various key players not carrying visible injuries and fatigue, I'd back the Alex to get something. As it is, I think they are going to give a good account of themselves but come up short.

Notts County 2-1 Crewe Alexandra