THE OPPOSITION
Crawley have won five of the last 17 games against Saturday afternoon’s visiting team since the 15th of December in 2012. Hope Akpan and Dannie Bulman scored Crawley’s goals in a 2-1 victory at the Lamex Stadium. Stevenage have held most of the bragging rights since 2012, beating the Reds on seven occasions since that fixture, the other five games ending in a draw.
The Reds came up against the Boro only two weeks ago in the rearranged Boxing Day fixture that was postponed due to COVID-19. Stevenage rode out as 2-1 victors at the Lamex Stadium on Tuesday the 18th of January. A first-half opener from former Exeter City captain Jake Taylor gave the home side the lead before Tom Nichols equalised on the stroke of half-time with a beautiful effort from the edge of the area. Luke Norris continued his prolific goalscoring form against the Reds and secured all three points for Stevenage in the 72nd minute.
When the two sides met in May 2021, in what was the penultimate game of the 2020/21 season, a six-goal thriller was played out behind closed doors. Crawley came from behind on three occasions to snatch a point. Luke Norris opened the scoring with a penalty, but skipper George Francomb equalised just three minutes later. There were four goals in a dramatic last fifteen minutes. Norris notched his second of the game in the 75th minute before Terence Vancooten headed into his own net in the 79th minute. Arthur Read put the home side back ahead in the 81st minute, but Jack Powell was on hand to level the tie with a glorious effort from 25-yards.
Former Exeter City Paul Tisdale is currently the man in charge of Stevenage. His side currently sit 17th in the table after a poor start to the season under the guidance of Alex Revell. Tisdale appears to have given life to his Stevenage team. The Boro were unbeaten in five league games before their defeat at Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday evening.
Stevenage’s early-season issues stemmed from a severe lack of goals. The Boro remain 18th in the table for average goals per game
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Luke Norris - Striker
Luke Norris is likely to lead the attack for Stevenage on Saturday afternoon. The striker will be familiar to many as he has a prolific scoring record against the Reds. Norris scored the winner for Boro in January and also netted twice in last season's dramatic 3-3 draw. The striker also found himself on the scoresheet for Colchester United in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup in 2019, equalising for the U’s after Crawley Town legend Dannie Bulman opened the scoring with a 25-yard thunderbolt. The 28-year-old is a product of the Brentford academy, and since his departure in 2014, Norris has played for Gillingham, Swindon, Colchester and Stevenage.
Elliott List - Striker
Elliot List is one of Boro's most dangerous and influential players and currently tops the goalscoring charts at the Lamex Stadium. The former Crystal Palace youth product signed for Stevenage in 2019 following a four-year spell in Kent with Gillingham. List has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season, four more than striker Luke Norris. Having hit top form in the 2021/22 season, List picked up an unfortunate injury on New Year's day as Stevenage faced Forest Green Rovers, and as a result, may not be fully fit for this afternoon’s fixture.
Christy Pym - Goalkeeper
Christy Pym is the man likely to start in between the sticks for Stevenage Town this afternoon. The 26-year-old is currently on loan from Sky Bet Championship side Peterborough United. Pym made seven appearances for the Posh this season before joining Boro on loan in January. The Exeter born shot-stopper was instrumental in Peterborough’s promotion-winning League One campaign in the 2020/21 season. Pym has conceded seven goals in his first six appearances for Boro.
THE HISTORY
As mentioned before, Crawley have only been victorious on five occasions out of our last seventeen meetings with Stevenage. In recent times, fixtures against Boro have been challenging for the Reds, who have only defeated the Hertfordshire side once in the last seven meetings.
Within these seven meetings both teams have scored in four of them, with an average of 2.7 goals scored from either side per game.
In our last six home meetings with Stevenage at home since 2015, the Reds have won three, with the travelling Stevenage also achieving three victories at The People’s Pension Stadium.
HOW THEY BET*
Crawley Town 11/8
Draw 11/5
Stevenage 19/10
*Odds of betting partners SkyBet at time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
