Walsall and Crawley Town will go head to head on Tuesday with just one point separating the two sides in the League Two table, and a win for either team would put them within reach of the playoffs.

In recent games, Walsall drew 3-3 away to Newport County on Friday night, while Crawley Town suffered a 4-2 home defeat to Crewe Alexandra despite twice taking the lead before the three goals from the visitors in the second half decided the game.

Match preview

Walsall are unbeaten in two games after Friday night's 3-3 draw, preceded by a 4-1 home win over Gillingham, and Mat Sadler's men are well on their way to establishing themselves as contenders for a playoff place.

After 14 home games they are just four points behind seventh in the table Accrington Stanley, and a win on Tuesday could see them move into the top half of the table if other results go their way.

The team's form in League Two has been rather mixed in the first quarter of the season and there has been an obvious lack of consistency in their performances, recording consecutive wins just once - in early September when they beat Colchester United and Salford City.

Despite the fluctuating performances, Walsall have been a tough nut to crack at home in the early months of the League Two season, losing just once in six games.

In the 3-1 defeat to Wimbledon, Taylor Allen was sent off just before the half-hour mark in the first half, forcing Walsall to play with 10 men for the rest of the game.

Walsall have only failed to score once at home this season, when they held Milton Keynes Dons to a goalless draw, while they have kept a clean sheet on two occasions defensively, which is a confidence boost ahead of Tuesday's encounter.

Crawley, on the other hand, have been going through a difficult patch of late, losing three games in a row – a 2-0 away defeat at Doncaster Rovers was followed by a 1-0 home loss to Wrexham, and on Saturday their winless streak was extended with a 4-2 home defeat to Crewe Alexandra.

Such a drop in performance is difficult to explain - before the three successive defeats Crawley had been on an impressive four-game winning streak.

Victories over Newport County, Tranmere Rovers, Grimsby Town and Sutton United saw a total of 13 goals scored, with at least three goals scored in each of those encounters.

However, most of their outstanding offensive performances have come in home games, while they have the fourth worst defensive record away from home, with only one win in five games and a total of 14 goals conceded.

In attack, Scott Lindsey's men have been relatively inconsistent away from home, scoring three times two games in a row against Stockport County and Grimsby Town, but also failing to score against Swindon Town and Doncaster Rovers.

Team News

Walsall have not made a single change to their starting XI for two games and two impressive performances against Gillingham and Newport suggest Sadler will be keen to field the same lineup as in the last two games.

Both Freddie Draper and Isaac Hutchinson have been in fine form in the last two games, scoring a combined seven goals, with Draper scoring a hat-trick against Newport County and Hutchinson netting three times against Gillingham.

Crawley Town may have to do without Liam Kelly, who was injured in the final minutes of normal time against Crewe Alexandra and may make way for Rafiq Khaleel in central midfield.

Klaidi Lolos and Ronan Darcy both scored in Saturday's 4-2 defeat and are expected to be in the starting 11 on Tuesday to give coach Lindsey's side a much-needed boost in attack.

Walsall possible starting lineup:
Evans; Riley, Williams, Daniels, Allen; Knowles, McEntee, Stirk, Hutchinson, Tierney; Draper

Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Addai; Wright, Conroy, Maguire, Darcy, Tsaroulla; Williams, Henry, Khaleel; Lolos, Orsi-Dadomo

We say: Walsall 3-1 Crawley Town

Walsall have done well in recent games, scoring three or more goals in each encounter, and with Draper and Hutchinson starting, the attackers are hard to stop at the moment.

Conversely, the visitors have been on a poor run of late and a game against a high-scoring Walsall may not be the ideal scenario for them to regain their confidence.


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