This afternoon sees us travel to Sincel Bank to play Lincoln City, who have already beaten us at the Alexandra Stadium in both the Carabao Cup and League 1. Their squad contains Alex Academy alum midfielder James Jones.
This Season:
They sit in 3rd place in the league following wins against Oxford United, MK Dons, Charlton Athletic, Blackpool, Plymouth Argyle, Ipswich Town, us, Swindon Town, Wigan Athletic twice, Rochdale, Northampton Town twice, Burton Albion, AFC Wimbledon, Portsmouth and Gillingham, they have drawn with Fleetwood Town, Accrington Stanley twice, Peterborough United, Hull City and Swindon while they have lost against Bristol Rovers, Doncaster Rovers twice, Portsmouth, Sunderland, Shrewsbury Town, Plymouth and Fleetwood.
They lost in the 3rd Round in the Carabao Cup to Liverpool after knocking out ourselves and Bradford City in the previous games while they lost in the 2nd Round of the FA Cup at Plymouth after they beat Forest Green Rovers.
In the EFL Trophy, they finished second in their group after wins against Scunthorpe United on penalties and Mansfield Town before a defeat against Manchester City’s Under-21s on penalties. They would also defeat Shrewsbury, Accrington and Hull (the latter on penalties) before losing to Sunderland at the semi-final stage via the same method.
Transfers:
Since the last meeting, they have signed defenders Regan Poole and Cohen Bramall (the latter born in Crewe) as well as midfielder Max Sanders on permanent deals while forward Morgan Rogers arrived from Man City on loan. Alex Bradley and Aaron Lewis left on permanent deals with Zack Elbouzedi and Max Melbourne also leaving the club on loan.
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 34
Lincoln Wins: 41
Draws: 30
Biggest Alex Win: 8-1 at Gresty Road in December 1931
Biggest Lincoln Win: 11-1 at Sincil Bank in September 1951
Last Meeting:
Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Lincoln, 27th October 2020
Harry Anderson gave the visitors the lead 6 minutes before the break.
Alex: Jaaskelainen; Ng, Beckles, Offord, Pickering; Murphy (Lowery 55), Wintle, Ainley (Porter 69); Dale (Powell 68), Mandron, Kirk
City: Palmer; Eyoma, Montsma, Walsh, Edun; Jones, Grant, McGrandles; Anderson, Hopper, Johnson
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: Joe Anyon, Ross Etheridge, David Felgate, Don Footitt, Andy Gorton, Dean Greygoose, Bruce Grobbelaar, Jerry Lowery, Stuart Naylor, Tom Poskett
Defenders: Thierry Audel, Darren Carr, Mark Foran, Geoff Hudson, Mark McCarrick, Adie Moses, George Page, Alan Sheehan, Julian Watts, Ashley M Westwood
Midfielders: Clive Evans, Fred Eyre, James Jones, Aidan Murphy, Stefan Oakes, Michael O’Connor, David Ridings, James Stothert
Forwards: Horace Brindley, Wilf Edwards, Anthony Elding, Rod Fletcher, Fred Haycock, Merfyn Jones, Eric Littler, Jim Mackey, Allan Mansley, Vadaine Oliver, Greg Pearson, Robert Roberts
Officials:
The officials for this game have been announced here with John Busby the referee, Joe Clark and Bradley Hall are his assistants with David Richardson the fourth official. The following Crewe games have been refereed by Busby in the last 5 years:
- Wycombe Wanderers 5-1 Crewe Alexandra (27th September 2016) – Cooper
- Portsmouth 0-1 Crewe Alexandra (4th March 2017) – Ray
- Eastleigh 1-1 Crewe Alexandra (FA Cup, 30th November 2019) – og
- Crewe Alexandra 4-1 Carlisle United (1st January 2020) – Ainley, Powell (2), Anene
- Crewe Alexandra 2-1 Northampton Town (12th December 2020) – Dale, Wintle
