Tomorrow evening sees Crewe Alexandra face Bolton Wanderers in the opening game of the EFL Trophy group that also contains Tranmere Rovers and Leeds United’s Under-21s.
This Season:
They sit in 10th place in League 1 following wins against Wycombe Wanderers and Morecambe, draws against Ipswich Town and Port Vale and defeats against Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth Argyle.
They lost to Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup 2nd Round after knocking out Salford City in Round 1.
Transfers:
This summer has seen them make 11 signings, 9 permanent signings and 2 season-long loans. Goalkeeper James Trafford rejoins them on loan from Manchester City and defenders Jack Iredale, Lynford Sackey, Eric Yoro, Eoin Toal and loanee Conor Bradley have joined. Midfielders Nelson Khumbeni and Connor Stanley as well as forwards Conor Carty and Gerald Sithole complete the arrivals.
They have allowed 11 players to leave on permanent deals while 3 players have left the club on loan deals.
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 6 (2 in Trophy)
Bolton Wins: 14 (4 in Trophy)
Draws: 6 (1 in Trophy)
Biggest Alex Win: 3-1 at the University of Bolton Stadium in February 1999
Biggest Bolton Win: 4-1 at the University of Bolton Stadium in December 2000
Last Meeting:
Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Bolton Wanderers, 19th March 2022
Substitute Amadou Bakayoko would score the only goal of the game in the final minute.
Alex: Richards; Johnson, Offord, Williams; Sambou, Lowery, Lundstram, Ainley (Griffiths 82); Harper (Porter 77), Finney (Murphy 70); Long
Bolton: Trafford; Johnston, Santos, Aimson; Sadlier, Williams (Dempsey 80), Sheehan, John; Afolayan (Kachunga 75), Bodvarsson (Bakayoko 72), Charles
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: Adam Bogdan, David Felgate, Will Jaaskelainen, Paul Rachubka, Ben Williams
Defenders: Sagi Burton, Neil Cox, Mark Ellis, Nicky Hunt, Fred Halliday, Jon Otsemobor, Warwick Rimmer, Eric Snookes, Jack Stanley, Chris Stokes
Midfielders: William Galley, Geoff Gay, Frank Marsh, Danny Murphy, Luke Murphy, Antoni Sarcevic, Sammy Sharp
Forwards: Max Clayton, Wyn Davies, Clayton Donaldson, Wayne Entwistle, Chris Long, John Manning, Shaun Miller, Frank Roberts, Steve Saunders, Joe Smith, Jonathan Walters
Officials:
The officials for this game have been announced here with Scott Oldham the referee, Lewis Raper and Helen Edwards are his assistants with Shaun Taylor the fourth official. Oldham has refereed the following Crewe games in the last 5 years:
- Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Rotherham United (4th November 2017, FA Cup) – Walker, Ainley
- Morecambe 0-1 Crewe Alexandra (21st November 2017) – Ng
- Northampton Town 2-0 Crewe Alexandra (3rd November 2018)
- Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Cheltenham Town (18th January 2020) – Ng
- Crewe Alexandra 1-2 Lincoln City (5th September 2020, Carabao Cup) – Sass-Davies
- Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Plymouth Argyle (15th December 2020) – Kirk, Dale
- Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Oxford United (22nd February 2022)
