SCENE SETTER
Reds will be looking to claim three successive League wins for the first time this season against Notts County on Easter Monday in our penultimate home game of the season. As well as banishing any worries about being dragged into the relegation scrap, back to back away wins at Yeovil and Exeter have lifted Crawley into 18th spot and there is the incentive to climb another place with three points if Grimsby slip up at home to Carlisle.
For County the scenario is a lot different. With three games to go they are in the bottom two and still two points below Macclesfield. It is a game they can ill afford to lose if they are to preserve their League status.
THE FORM GUIDE
Two successive wins for Reds came after a run of four straight defeats but they have climbed to 18th in the form table, based on the last 10 games. County are 22nd, with two wins and three draws in their last ten. They have lost their last two but won two of their last three on the road at Carlisle and Stevenage.
THE HISTORY
Our first meeting with County took place in November 2012 in our first season in League One when Jonathan Forte scored against his old club in a 1-1 draw. The sides played out a 0-0 draw in the return game in March 2013, refereed by Monday's whistler Graham Salisbury.
The following season saw both sides enjoyed a win as Mark Connolly scored the only goal in a 1-0 Reds success while Jimmy Spencer scored the only goal in a 1-0 County victory on Easter Monday 2014.
With just four goals in the first four fixtures between the two sides, many could have been forgiven for expecting another low scoring affair when the Reds travelled to Nottingham in October 2014. A brace from Garry Thompson and Zeli Ismail’s strike put County 3-0 up at the break, but Gwion Edwards and Matt Harrold pegged the score back to 3-2 before Thompson completed his hat-trick and Gary Jones added another. Marvin Elliott bagged another for the Reds as the game finished 5-3.
The Reds made amends in April 2014 when Kelly Youga and Darren Ward scored in a 2-0 win.
After that fixture and until January 2017 Notts won five matches in a row against the Reds, including three in West Sussex. That sequence included 4-1 and 3-1 victories and successive 1-0 wins here.
Then Reds picked up their first ever win at Meadow Lane. Jimmy Smith opened the scoring before Jon Stead levelled from the penalty spot in the second half. As the game went into stoppage time, Matty Virtue picked up a second booking and was sent off. Just minutes later, County’s goalkeeper Ross Fitzsimmons was shown a red for punching Connolly in the area and Josh Payne slotted past substitute keeper Branislav Pindroch from the resultant penalty.
Earlier this season, County won 3-1 under ex-Reds boss Harry Kewell with Dominic Poleon getting our goal.
OPPOSITION VIEW
County boss Neal Ardley believes two wins from their last three games could keep them up. They entertain Grimsby on Saturday before finishing the season at Swindon Town.
"We will now probably need to win two," said Ardley. "We are not taking our opportunities when they come, with the others losing. Who knows what is written in the stars over the next three games, but the one thing we know is that we have got to recover really quickly (from Friday's loss at home to MK Dons) and go again if we want to take this down to the wire and save our season."
TEAM NEWS
Josh Payne and Jimmy Smith are the only absentees for Crawley.
THE MATCH OFFICIALS
Graham Salisbury takes charge on Easter Monday. Find out more about his previous Crawley appointments here
HOW THEY BET*
Crawley win: 13/8
Draw: 23/10
Notts County win: 6/4
*Odds correct with EFL partners Sky Bet at time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
TICKET INFORMATION
The Box Office re-opens at 10am on Monday but you can buy in advance online and print your tickets at home. Click here for more information.
COVERAGE
The game will be available for UK subscribers of iFollow from 2.55pm with live commentary from BBC Sussex & Surrey Sport's Gary Smith and ex-Reds captain Tony Vessey.
You must be a subscriber to listen (UK) to this service. You can subscribe here. Overseas users can also watch the action live.
There will also be coverage across our social media channels throughout the afternoon. @crawleytown on Twitter, Crawley Town FC on Facebook and crawley_town_fc on Instagram followed by post-match reaction and a match report.
COME ON YOU REDS!
