League Two outfit Crawley Town will welcome League One side Accrington Stanley to West Sussex on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the FA Cup.

Crawley will enter the contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with Bradford City in the league last weekend, while Accrington also played out a 1-1 draw with Lincoln City in their last fixture on Tuesday night.

Match preview

Crawley's last FA Cup victory proved to be a famous one, beating Leeds United 3-0 in January 2021, but they have lost their last two games in the competition to Bournemouth and Tranmere Rovers.

The Reds sacked manager Kevin Betsy earlier this month due to the team's struggles, with Lewis Young currently in charge of the League Two side on a caretaker basis.

Young has impressed since taking control for the second time on a temporary basis, winning three and drawing two of his five games in charge, with the team unbeaten since the 3-0 loss at Grimsby Town on October 8.

Crawley have beaten Newport County, Aston Villa Under-21s and Mansfield Town since Betsy's departure, in addition to drawing their last two against Colchester United and Bradford, with the recent run moving them into 19th position in the table, which is a positive considering their early-season struggles.

The Red Devils will now be bidding to continue their impressive run as they switch their attention to the FA Cup, and they will be taking on Accrington for the first time since January 2018.

Accrington suffered a 2-1 defeat to Crawley in their last meeting, which came in League Two, but this weekend's contest will be the first time that the two sides have met in a cup competition.

Stanley ended a three-game losing run when they picked up a point at Lincoln on Tuesday evening, with the result leaving them in 20th position in the League One table on 17 points.

The early indications are that John Coleman's side could be involved in a relegation battle in the third tier this season, as they are currently just three points outside the relegation zone.

Accrington have not been victorious in the FA Cup since beating Ipswich Town 1-0 in January 2019, losing their last four in the competition against Derby County, Crewe Alexandra, Tranmere and Port Vale.

Stanley have only won one of their last four matches against Crawley, meanwhile, which was a 1-0 success at home during the 2016-17 League Two campaign.

Team News

Crawley caretaker boss Young will make changes to his XI for this weekend's contest, but he will also be keen to keep the momentum going, so it should still be a familiar side.

Tom Fellows is likely to come into the side in a wide area, while Teddy Jenks and Dom Telford are expected to be given opportunities to impress from the first whistle.

It is again likely to be a 4-4-2 formation for the Reds, and there could be starts for Tom Nichols and Ashley Nadesan in the final third of the field.

As for Accrington, Coleman will also make alterations to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Lincoln in the league on Tuesday night.

Like Young, the away side's manager will have to balance making changes with the need to put a competitive side on the field, while he will also have to assess the fitness of the players following Tuesday's game.

Dan Martin, Leslie Adekoya and Rosaire Longelo-Mbule all featured as second-half substitutes against Lincoln and could now come into the starting side for the FA Cup fixture.

Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Balcombe; Francomb, Francillette, Craig, Telford; Jenks, Hessenthaler, Powell, Fellows; Nichols, Nadesan

Accrington Stanley possible starting lineup:
Savin; Rodgers, Longelo-Mbule, Astley; Clark, Martin, Hamilton, McConville, Pritchard; Adekoya, Leigh

We say: Crawley Town 0-1 Accrington Stanley

We are not expecting this to be a particularly open and entertaining match, with perhaps just the one goal deciding the contest. Crawley are in strong form at the moment, but Accrington will arguably be able to send the better side onto the field, and we fancy the visitors to win this one.

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