Plymouth Argyle shall be looking to get back to winning ways after being knocked out of the FA Cup when they travel to Gresty Road to face Crewe Alexandra in League One.
The hosts find themselves in the relegation zone heading into this match, and with eight points between them and safety, there is a lot of pressure on them to pick up a result.
Match preview
© Reuters
Crewe Alexandra head into Tuesday's game on the back a four-match run without a victory, which is something that they will be hoping to end when it comes to this match.
The squad have not scored a single goal in that period, which is another area of concern for David Artell, with only Doncaster Rovers having found the back of the net fewer times this season.
They were last in action against Gillingham, and despite dominating the possession it was not enough to get any points, as a 17th-minute penalty from Danny Lloyd provided the difference.
Crewe did secure a result against Plymouth earlier this season, with the two teams competing to a 1-1 draw with Scott Kashket scoring in the third minute to provide his team with the lead, but they were not able to hang on to that.
Their last victory took place against Charlton Athletic in January, with two first-half goals helping them to a 2-1 win, but the squad must try and get back to that standard on Tuesday.
© Reuters
Plymouth also head into this match on the back of a defeat; however, they put in a strong performance at the weekend against Chelsea in the FA Cup, almost taking the defending European champions to a penalty shootout.
Macaulay Gillesphey had given his team the lead in the first half, but the Blues were able to fight back and get themselves into the next round after extra time.
However, their previous performance in League One did lead to three points as they defeated Doncaster Rovers 3-1, which is a result they shall be hoping to follow up on this week.
Steven Schumacher's team have had mixed form as of late, and some consistency is what he will be now looking to see from his squad as they look to earn promotion into the Championship.
His squad currently sit just outside of the playoffs, with five points separating them, but with a game in hand they have the potential to push themselves.
- L
- W
- D
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Rekeem Harper recently joined Crewe, and he will be hoping to make his debut for the club on Tuesday night if handed the opportunity to do so.
Travis Johnson missed out on their most recent game due to injury, which will provide some question marks over him for this one as well.
Romoney Crichlow could be an option for Plymouth on Tuesday after he was cup tied for the Chelsea fixture, while Danny Mayor shall be hoping to retain his spot in the team.
However, the club will be without both Brendan Galloway and George Cooper who are sidelined with knee injuries, but Panutche Camara has also recently returned from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup:
Jaaskelainen; Alebiosu, Sass-Davies, Offord, Uwakwe; Finney, Murphy, Lowery; Long, Agyei, Mandron
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Edwards, Wilson, Scarr, Gillesphey, Grant; Mayor, Houghton, Camara; Jephcott, Garrick
We say: Crewe Alexandra 0-2 Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle are certainly the favourites heading into this match due to their league positioning and recent form, which is something that should lead to them taking all three points.
The poor performances that Crewe Alexandra have displayed lately and their lack of goals will likely prove to be a problem for them within this particular fixture.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Plymouth Argyle win with a probability of 43.75%. A win for Crewe Alexandra had a probability of 30.91% and a draw had a probability of 25.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Plymouth Argyle win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.79%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.05%) and 0-2 (7.38%). The likeliest Crewe Alexandra win was 1-0 (7.97%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12%). The actual scoreline of 1-4 was predicted with a 1.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Plymouth Argyle would win this match.
