Tomorrow evening sees Crewe Alexandra travel to Brunton Park to face Carlisle United, the hosts’ playing squad containing former Alex defender Terell Thomas.
NB: This game will be live on SkySports+ with an kick-off of 12:30 pm.
This Season:
This season sees the Cumbrians sitting in 24th place in the league having beaten Barrow, Swindon Town and Salford City, they have drawn with Colchester United, Harrogate Town, Bromley and Doncaster Rovers while they have lost against Gillingham, MK Dons, Tranmere Rovers, Bradford City, Fleetwood Town, Grimsby Town, Notts County, AFC Wimbledon, Walsall and Cheltenham Town.
They lost against Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup 1st Round and lost against Stoke City at the same stage of the Carabao Cup. In their EFL Trophy group, they lost against Nottingham Forest’s Under-21s and Wigan before beating Morecambe to finish bottom of their group.
Transfers:
They have signed goalkeeper Jude Smith, defenders Cameron Harper, Aaron Hayden, Thomas, Archie Davies and Ben Williams, midfielders Ethan Robson and Kadeem Harris while forwards Charlie Wyke, Jordan Jones and Tyler Burey complete their permanent signings. Midfielder Harrison Biggins as well as forwards Daniel Adu-Adjei and Dominic Sadi have all joined on season-long loans.
Leaving the club this summer were defender Jack Armer, midfielder Alfie McCalmont and forward Danny Butterworth have all left the club for undisclosed fees to Burton Albion, Central Coast Mariners and Swindon Town respectively while Jayden Harris, Jordan Gibson, Kai Nugent, former Alex loanee Corey Whelan, Max Kilsby, Sean Maguire, Josh Emmanuel, Paul Huntington and Tomas Holy left when their deals expired. A number of players have left the club on loan deals.
Coaches Thoughts:
Here are the thoughts of the two sets of coaching staff heading into the game:
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 38
Carlisle Wins: 43
Draws: 15
Biggest Alex Win: 7-1 at the Alexandra Stadium in January 1939
Biggest Carlisle Win: 5-0 at the Alexandra Stadium in September 2017
Last Meeting
Crewe Alexandra 0-3 Carlisle United, 29th December 2022
Morgan Feeney gave the visitors a 6th-minute lead before Owen Moxon doubled the lead a minute after the break. Luke Offord was sent off 4 minutes later for the Alex before substitute Kristian Dennis added a third for United in the 72nd minute.
Crewe: Okonkwo; Mellor, Offord, McDonald, Adebisi; Tabiner (Brook 68), Thomas, Uwakwe (Colkett 86), Agyei; Sambou, Evans (Griffiths 54)
Booked – Mellor 49
Sent Off – Offord 50
Carlisle: Holy; Ellis (Harris 46), Feeney, Huntington, Mellish (Devitt 69), Armer; Guy, Moxon, Charters (Hilton 57); Gibson (Sho-Silva 76), Stretton (Dennis 57)
Booked – Feeney 26
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: Martin Taylor, Keiren Westwood, Ben Williams
Defenders: Billy Barr, Paul Boertien, Darren Carr, Chris Curran, Digger Dawson, Mark Ellis, Rod McDonald, Kelvin Mellor, Dave Miller, Michael Raynes, Shaun Smith, Terell Thomas, Corey Whelan, Harry Worley
Midfielders: James Bailey, Ian Bishop, John Crabbe, Stuart Green, Bill Kennedy, Chris Lumsdon, Ben Marshall, Stuart Metcalfe, Steven Schumacher, Joe White
Forwards: David Amoo, Joe Anyinsah, Stan Bowles, Owen Brown, Bill Caton, Jack Connor, Peter Duffield, Wayne Entwistle, Riccardo Gabbiadini, Jack Holland, Jim Mackey, Peter McArdle, Jimmy McConnell, Harry McKirdy, Shaun Miller, Jon Newby, Mark Rivers, Allan Smart, Billy Stark, Gareth Taylor, Robbie Wakenshaw, Offrande Zanzala
Officials:
The EFL have announced that Elliot Bell is tomorrow’s referee with Daniel Woodward and Jonathan Wyatt assisting him and Martin Parker the fourth official. This is the first time that Bell will have refereed Crewe (though he was the fourth official on Monday for the Vale game).
