This evening sees Crewe Alexandra host Salford City at the Alexandra Stadium with the visitors’ squad containing Alex Academy alum Matty Lund.
This Season:
They sit in 7th place after wins against Mansfield Town twice, us, Newport County twice, Stevenage, Harrogate Town, Sutton United twice, Northampton Town twice, Hartlepool United, Gillingham, Grimsby Town, Walsall and Rochdale, they have drawn against Swindon Town, Crawley Town, Grimsby, AFC Wimbledon, Barrow twice, Colchester United and Harrogate while they have lost against Doncaster Rovers, Tranmere Rovers twice, Bradford City twice, Stockport County, Leyton Orient, Rochdale, Carlisle United, Crawley and Swindon.
They lost to Peterborough United after a replay in the FA Cup 1st Round and lost to Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup 1st Round. They topped their EFL Trophy group after beating Liverpool’s Under-21s, Accrington Stanley and Rochdale (the latter two on penalties), wins against Bradford and Port Vale saw them through to the quarter-final where they lost to Cheltenham Town.
Transfers:
Since the last meeting, they have signed goalkeepers Alex Cairns and Giosue Bellagambi (both on loan), midfielders Odin Bailey, Shane McLoughlin and loanee Ethan Galbraith as well as forwards Callum Morton and Louie Barry, the latter on loan.
They have allowed goalkeeper Tom King and forward Brandon Thomas-Asante to leave the club permanently and have allowed a number of players out on loan deals.
Head-to-Head:
Alex Wins: 1
Salford Wins: 2
Draws: 0
Biggest Alex Win: 4-1 at Alexandra Stadium in September 2019
Biggest Salford Win: 3-0 at Moor Lane in August 2022
Last Meeting:
Salford City 3-0 Crewe Alexandra, 13th August 2022
Conor McAleny opened the scoring for the hosts in the 17th minute before Bassala Sambou was sent off for violent conduct in the 31st minute with Brandon Thomas-Asante scoring twice in 4 minutes (50 and 53) to seal the victory for the hosts.
Crewe: Okonkwo; Mellor, Offord, Sass-Davies, Williams (Griffiths 84); Thomas, Uwakwe; Brook (Baker-Richardson 46), Ainley (Leshabela 59), Sambou; Agyei (O. Finney 76)
Salford: King; Lowe (Leak 61), Vassell, Nartey; Bolton (Berkoe 85), Watt (Lund 85), Watson, Touray; McAleny (Smith 30); Thomas-Asante, Hendry
Played for Both:
The following players have been contracted to both teams:
Goalkeepers: n/a
Defenders: Martyn Booty, Michael Nottingham, Harry Worley
Midfielders: Chris Atkinson, Matty Lund, Liam Nolan, Michael O’Connor
Forwards: n/a
Officials:
The officials for this game have been announced here with Benjamin Speedie the referee, Matthew Parry and Chris Isherwood are his assistants with Gary Hilton the fourth official. Speedie has refereed the following Crewe games in the previous 5 years:
- Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Lincoln City (27th October 2020)
- Crewe Alexandra 1-0 Doncaster Rovers (9th March 2021) – Mandron
- Leeds United 3-0 Crewe Alexandra (24th August 2021, Carabao Cup)
- Crewe Alexandra 0-2 Rotherham United (29th January 2022)
