A look-ahead to Saturday's EFL 2 game at Gresty Road
Reds will have met Crewe more than any other side in our Football League history when we go to Gresty Road on Saturday for what will be the 11th meeting between the clubs.
Our record at the Alexandra Stadium is mixed. Last season’s 2-0 win was our first there and secured by two goals from James Collins. Our first visit there in 2011 ended in a 1-1 draw when Matt Tubbs scored and Crewe finished with ten men. We lost 2-0 there under Richie Barker and 1-0 when Gary Alexander and Martin Hinshelwood took charge of team affairs for one game after Barker was sacked in 2013. On Good Friday 2015 Reds drew 0-0 in a League One relegation battle when Dean Saunders was in charge.
The Railwaymen aren’t on a great run at the moment, but they are capable of getting good results. Back in October, they beat high-flying Notts County 2-0 at home ten days after they had defeated Stevenage 1-0.
Since beating County they have lost seven out of eight in the League, although they did win 1-0 at Morecambe during that sequence and enjoyed an impressive 2-1 win over Rotherham in the first round of the Emirates FA Cup.
Alex were knocked out of the Cup on Wednesday when they lost 1-0 at home to Blackburn in a second-round replay. At Ewood Park ten days earlier they had produced a superb fightback against the League One side, coming from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 against a Rovers team who finished with nine men. The replay was postponed for 24 hours because of a frozen pitch and the first half on Wednesday was played in a blizzard.
Manager David Artell (pictured) was appointed in January 2017. During a 19-year playing career Artell played more than 450 games for a variety of clubs including Crewe. The 37-year-old has a degree in forensic biology from the University of Chester.
