Tomorrow’s game sees Leagues 1 and 2 enter the FA Cup as Crewe Alexandra host fellow League 2 side Carlisle United at the Alexandra Stadium.
Looking at the visitors, so far this season they have 7 victories, 2 draws and 8 losses in the league as they sit in 11th place in the league. In the league, they have beaten Cheltenham Town, Port Vale, the Alex, Cambridge United, Bury, Oldham United and Newport County, have drawn against Northampton Town and Lincoln City and have lost to Exeter City, Mansfield Town, Tranmere Rovers, Stevenage, Grimsby Town, Morecambe and Yeovil Town.
In cup competitions, they lost against Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Cup whilst they have beaten Morecambe and lost to Sunderland in the EFL Trophy. They would need to beat Stoke City’s Under-21 team on Tuesday night (either in 90 minutes or on penalties) to advance through the group stage.
Looking back in the archives, the two teams have met 90 times with Carlisle leading the head-to-head with 40 wins to 36 with 14 draws. Carlisle’s biggest win came last season at the Alexandra Stadium as they won 5-0 whilst the Alex’s biggest win came in January 1939 with a 7-1 victory at the Alexandra Stadium. Carlisle have won the last 3 meetings between the sides as they won 5-0 at the Alexandra Stadium last season and 1-0 games last season and in August at Brunton Park.
Who are the officials for the game?
The officials for this game see Lee Swabey as the man in the middle where he is assisted by Paul Graham and Mark Griffiths with Scott Simpson being the fourth official. During the last 5 seasons the following Crewe games have been refereed by Swabey:
- Crewe Alexandra 3-1 Doncaster Rovers (30th April 2016) – Ainley, Haber, Inman
- Yeovil Town 3-0 Crewe Alexandra (17th April 2017)
- Barnet 2-1 Crewe Alexandra (30th March 2018) – McKirdy
