Tomorrow evening sees another away game, this time a longer trip to Cambridge United with the Alex looking to complete the league double after beating the U’s 2-0 at the Alexandra Stadium in November.
Looking at the hosts, so far this season they have 11 victories, 7 draws and 18 losses in the league as they sit in 19th place. They have beaten Notts County, Stevenage, Swindon Town, Macclesfield Town, Grimsby Town twice, Crawley Town, Stevenage, Notts County, Northampton Town and Port Vale, they have drawn with Northampton, Mansfield Town, Lincoln City, Bury, Yeovil Town, Tranmere Rovers and Oldham Athletic while they have lost to Vale, Exeter City twice, Cheltenham Town twice, Carlisle United, Colchester United, Newport County, Forest Green Rovers, Crawley Town, MK Dons twice, Oldham, us, Tranmere, Morecambe, Lincoln and Yeovil.
In cup competitions, they lost to Newport County in the EFL Cup while they lost to Guiseley in the FA Cup. They have had some success in the EFL Trophy, topping their group after beating Southampton’s Under-21 team and Colchester United before losing to Northampton on penalties in Round 2.
Looking back in the archives, the two teams have met 29 times with Cambridge leading the head-to-head with 14 wins to 8 with 7 draws. Crewe’s biggest win came in a 3-0 victory at the Abbey Stadium in October 1986 while Cambridge’s biggest win came at the same ground the following season with a 4-1 win. Last season saw the U’s do the league double, winning 1-0 at the Alexandra Stadium in September before a 3-1 victory at home in December.
Who are the officials for the game?
The officials for this game see Charles Breakspear as the man in the middle where he is assisted by Paul Yates and Stephen Brown with Abbas Khan being the fourth official. During the last 5 seasons the following Crewe games have been refereed by Breakspear:
- Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Coventry City (11th October 2014) – Brandy, Cooper
- Crewe Alexandra 1-1 Doncaster Rovers (29th November 2014) – Ikpeazu
- Crewe Alexandra 1-5 Peterborough United (21st November 2015) – Colclough
- Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Morecambe (21st April 2018) – Miller
I asked Cambridge supporter Owen Mizon, writer for YABAcufc, for his thoughts going into the game.
How do feel that your season has gone since we last played?
Since the reverse fixture, I believe we’ve turned a slight corner and are preparing now for what we hope will be a positive end to the season. New manager Colin Calderwood has ensured we’ve cut out the silly little mistakes we were well accustomed to at the start of the season and we’re becoming a bit more clinical at times. We’ve only lost once at home since October so The Abbey is certainly becoming a fortress at the moment.
What do you think the team will be for tomorrow’s game?
I’ve got no doubt you’ll attack this game with the right mindset, hard to break down and with plenty of flair, it’s set up to be a tough game. I see the following line-up being: Mitov, Halliday, Taft, Taylor, Dunk, Deegan, Maris, Brown, Amoo, Ibehre, Hepburn-Murphy. However, Calderwood may be looking to tinder what could be a very tired squad after Saturday. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see the likes of Hayden Coulson, Alex Jones or Jake Carroll start.
Is Jabo Ibehre still the key man or is there someone else we should look out for?
On our day, we’ve got a clear plethora of talent who can be ruthless. However, we haven’t seen that an awful lot this season. Despite offering a physical presence and an ability to hold up the ball, it’s seemed a tough period for Ibehre recently. Ones to look out for is David Amoo, a winger blessed with pace and a real eagerness to beat the opposition’s full-back. Another one to keep an eye on is prodigy Rushian Hepburn-Murphy. Highly-rated, the Aston Villa loanee looks a class above and will be desperate to add more goals to his name after opening his account away at Grimsby recently.
Any changes on where the U’s will finish (you previously said mid-table)?
Despite being 10 points clear of Macclesfield Town in 23rd position, it is not over until the fat lady sings. With the talent we dispossess, I’m confident we’ll avoid the drop. 18th looks realistic I feel.
Any changes to who you think will be promoted or relegated?
Regarding my previous prediction of Lincoln City, Bury, Mansfield Town and MK Dons going up, I’d like to think this very well could happen. All 4 sides have the firepower and real game-changers. I’ve always felt Notts County would pull off an escape, but after being on the receiving end of a thrashing at Cheltenham on Saturday, it’s not looking likely. I think Macclesfield will join them too.
Safe trip down to CB5 to all the travelling Railwaymen fans, credit where it’s due. I wish you the best of luck for the remainder of the season. After 9:35 that is, of course.
