Match Zone

Match Preview – Burton Albion (H)

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Tomorrow afternoon sees the Alex host Burton Albion in the first of two home games (whatever they are!) this week. The Burton squad contains former Alex players Ben Garratt and Brewers captain John Brayford while Alex captain Luke Murphy is set to play against his former team.

This Season:

Burton currently sit in 7th place in the league. They beat Shrewsbury Town, Ipswich Town and Sunderland in their opening 3 games before a defeat at Cambridge United followed by draws against Cheltenham Town, Bolton Wanderers and Gillingham.

They were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the 1st Round on penalties by Oxford United while they lost their first EFL Trophy game against MK Dons in a group that also contains Aston Villa’s Under-21s and Wycombe Wanderers.

Transfers:

Burton have made 16 signings this summer – 11 permanent signings, 2 loans until January and three season-long loans. Goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe (EOS loan) is joined by defenders Frazer Blake-Tracey, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Thomas O’Connor, Deji Oshilaja, Ryan Leak and Sam Hughes (Jan loan). Midfielders Bryn Morris, Conor Shaughnessy, Charlie Lakin and Jacob Maddox (EOS loan) also joined while forwards Louis Moult, Omari Patrick, Aaron Amadi-Holloway, Harry Chapman (Jan loan) and Daniel Jebbison (EOS loan) complete the signings.

They have allowed 14 players to leave on permanent deals, including former Alex players Colin Daniel and Luke Varney, while 2 youngsters have left on loan deals.

Head-to-Head:

Alex Wins: 4
Brewers Wins: 4
Draws: 4

Biggest Alex Win: 4-1 at the Alexandra Stadium in March 2011
Biggest Brewers Win: 3-0 at the Alexandra Stadium in September 2019 (EFL Trophy)

Last Meeting

Crewe Alexandra 0-3 Burton Albion, 13th March 2021

Kane Hemmings would score a first-half hat-trick (10th, 23rd & 34th minutes) for the visitors.

Alex: Richards; Adebisi, Wood, Beckles, Pickering; Lowery, Wintle (Evans 66), Murphy (Porter 59); Dale (Walker 66), Mandron, Kirk (Ainley 59)

Burton: Garratt; Brayford, Carter, Mancienne, Hamer; Taylor (O’Toole 90), Clare, Smith (Powell 80), Edwards (Broom 80), Akins, Hemmings (Fondop-Talum 75)

Played for Both:

The following players have been contracted to both teams:

Goalkeepers: Ben Garratt, Adam Legzdins, Martin Taylor, Stuart Tomlinson

Defenders: Patrick Ada, Ryan Austin, Danny Blanchett, Paul Boertien, John Brayford, David Gray, Adam Yates

Midfielders: Paul Bancroft, Lee Bell, Colin Daniel, Matty Lund, Luke Murphy, Kevin Stewart

Forwards: Martin Harris, Harold Mosby, Jon Newby, Alex Nicholls, Greg Pearson, Kevin Sheldon, Michael Symes, Derek Tomkinson, Luke Varney, Calvin Zola

Officials:

The officials for this game have been announced here with Ross Joyce the referee, Chris Isherwood and Ravel Cheosiaua are his assistants with Billy Smallwood the fourth official. Here are the games that have been refereed by Joyce in the last 5 years:

  • Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Mansfield Town (1st October 2016) – Dagnall
  • Accrington Stanley 3-2 Crewe Alexandra (8th April 2017) – Cooke, Dagnall
  • Crewe Alexandra 0-5 Carlisle United (23rd September 2017)
  • Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Port Vale (2nd November 2019)
  • Crewe Alexandra 2-0 Macclesfield Town (22nd February 2020) – Porter, Walker
  • Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Ipswich Town (30th January 2021) – Kirk
  • Fleetwood Town 0-2 Crewe Alexandra (20th April 2021) – Dale, Porter

Opposition View:

I asked Burton Albion supporter Ed Walker, co-host of the D3D4 podcast, for his thoughts going into the game and the season so far.

How would you describe last season, both in terms of on the pitch and how you felt about off it?

Last season was nothing short of a tale of two halves. Natural optimism comes ahead of a new campaign but that turned to negative thoughts fairly quickly as Burton struggled in League One under a rookie manager.

Christmas was a particularly bad period as Burton shipped goals upon goals in their run of consecutive defeats and that ultimately cost Jake Buxton his job, with Burton sat rock bottom of the division.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink returns to the club in the new year, and the hope is that he can at least get Burton back into the mix with those in the relegation zone and potentially pull clear right at the end.

Burton ended up getting out of the bottom four within 2 months, went on a club-record 6 consecutive EFL wins and ended up 16th.

The survival story has probably gone under the radar with general media because it looked nailed on for so long. Burton got out of trouble far quicker than anyone expected.

What position do you feel you needed to strengthen most during this transfer window but didn’t?

I honestly don’t think there is a position that hasn’t been strengthened. 16 players in total came through the door, 11 permanent signings and 5 loans, and they cover everywhere from defence and goalkeeper to winger and striker.

Heading into deadline day, the hope was that Burton could get in a striker as there were few fit numbers available in that position. They ended up getting that man in, young Daniel Jebbison on loan from Sheffield United, but ended up also getting attacking midfielder Harry Chapman, centre-back Sam Hughes, and permanent midfielder Charlie Lakin before the window shut as well.

The summer window has clearly been undertaken with a long-term target in place and fans are really pleased with what has arrived and what has been moved on.

Are there any players that will be missing for the Brewers?

It’s probably been the biggest frustration of the season so far. Burton haven’t yet been able to have a fully fit squad available for selection. Several players are out with injury, most notably in the striker and deeper midfield positions. Striker Louis Moult for instance picked up a bad injury in pre-season and will likely be out till the new year.

Deeper midfielders Deji Oshilaja, Tom O’Connor and Michael Mancienne have not featured much so far because of injury. Jacob Maddox had to be brought off early into the first game of the season. Sam Hughes is still recovering from an injury that ended his first loan spell here last season.

Burton have put together a big squad so there are options available in those positions, but it could be a while yet until we get to see what the full-strength side looks like.

What do you think the team will be?

I think we will be 4-2-3-1

Ben Garratt in goal.

Tom Hamer at left-back. Conor Shaughnessy and Michael Bostwick as the centre-backs. John Brayford at right-back.

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Charlie Lakin in deeper midfield.

Lucas Akins on the left. Harry Chapman in attacking midfield. Jonny Smith on the right.

Kane Hemmings up top.

Who are the Brewers danger men?

Burton are very much a counter-attacking side. They are comfortable having less of the ball and looking to win possession either in the opposition half or from a deeper position where they can spring forward on the break.

Jonny Smith is perhaps the main star with this approach. His immense work rate goes unnoticed at times. One minute he’s back helping the right-back in defence, the next he’s springing forward to get involved in attacking play. Smith can be dangerous cutting in from the right-hand side to affect the game on his left foot.

New signing Harry Chapman is catching the eye already. He’s an attacking midfielder who loves getting on the ball and driving towards goal. He scored some spectacular goals whilst on loan at Shrewsbury Town last season, and the hope is that he can do the same whilst at Burton Albion.

Another one to note would be Tom Hamer. A strong defender at heart who’s impressed at left-back, his long throw is a weapon Burton have been looking to use ever since he signed last January. Burton get plenty of them each game, expect one of Michael Bostwick or Conor Shaughnessy to be the target for the flick-on.

What would be a successful season for Burton this season?

A successful season for Burton in truth is avoiding any repeat of 2020-21. Staying out of trouble all campaign will provide a solid platform to build on with the younger core of players that have been brought in over the last two windows.

The first 7 games have provided an encouraging start, but I’m still not sure whether that can be sustained across the whole season. I’d honestly just like to see one game where everyone’s available for selection at the moment!

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