A look ahead to tonight's Checkatrade Trophy game
The Reds host Colchester United on Tuesday evening in their first Southern Group E game of the newly formatted Checkatrade Trophy.
The contest against the Essex side will be the Reds only home match of the group stage – with away fixtures at Charlton Athletic and Southampton U-23s to come.
Dermot Drummy’s men suffered their first league defeat of the season on Saturday at home to Notts County – despite Enzio Boldewijn’s first league goal for the club.
Tonight's game against John McGreal’s men at the Checkatrade Stadium provides an immediate opportunity for the Reds to get back to winning ways in front of the home support.
Opposition Dugout:
Colchester have started the season strongly, with three wins from their last four league games. Their only reverse in that time being a 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth at Fratton Park – they currently sit in fourth position in EFL Two.
Victories against Cambridge United and Grimsby Town both came on home soil, with the other win coming on Saturday at Adams Park when they beat Wycombe Wanderers 2-0.
Brennan Dickenson, the former Brighton player, is the U’s top scorer with three league goals to his name so far this season.
We’ve Met Before:
The Reds have an unbeaten record against the Essex side over the six meetings all in League One.
The first of those came in the 2012/13 season where a 1-1 draw away from home was followed by a 3-0 win for Reds.
The last time the two sides met was in League One during the 2014/15 season. The first fixture came in December 2014 and ended in a 0-0 stalemate and was Dean Saunders' first game in charge of Crawley.
In March 2015, Saunders’ men gained a vital three points with a 3-2 win in Essex – Izale McLeod’s late penalty sealed the win after Ryan Dickson and Gavin Tomlin had also got themselves on the scoresheet. Only two players in the 18-man squad that day - Jimmy Smith and Bobson Bawling - are still at the club.
Match Officials:
Chichester's Tim Robinson will be in charge tonight – he will be assisted by Mr David Avent and Mr Ian Cooper.
The fourth official will be Mr Adrian Waters.
Tickets:
here.Ticket details for the game can be found
Follow it live:
Reds fans will be able to follow all the action with live commentary from John Barnett on Reds Player.
Updates are also available via our social media channels on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat.
You will also be able to read a full match report and get post-match video reaction after the final whistle.