Oldham Athletic will look to jump out of the bottom two of the League Two table on Tuesday, when they travel south to take on Crawley Town.
The visitors have hugely boosted their survival hopes with a six-game unbeaten run recently, while their hosts also find themselves in impressive form having climbed to 13th spot.
Match preview
© Reuters
Following a difficult first half to the season, Crawley Town found themselves deep in the bottom half of the League Two table, but they have turned their form around in impressive fashion in recent months.
John Yems's side have now earned six victories and 22 points from their last 13 league outings, with consecutive wins over Leyton Orient, Colchester United and Northampton Town over the turn of the year being a particular highlight.
Following another four-game unbeaten run, including victories over Bradford City and Harrogate Town, the Reds suffered a narrow home defeat to Hartlepool United, but, after a two-week layoff, they made an instant return to winning ways against league leaders Forest Green Rovers at the weekend.
Ashley Nadesan and Jordan Tunnicliffe had Yems's side 2-0 up, and, after Dom Bernard pulled a goal back for the visitors with 10 minutes to go, they held on to seal an impressive three-point haul.
As a result of their strong showings in recent months, the Sussex outfit have now climbed well away from the threat of relegation, and they will go in search of a second straight win on Tuesday with the chance to climb into the top half.
They arguably face one of their toughest tests in the run though, as Oldham Athletic arrive in eye-catching form with their sights set on climbing out of the relegation zone.
With just 18 points from their opening 25 games of the season, the Latics' hopes of survival looked particularly slim, but they have seemingly galvanised in the last month under John Sheridan.
The Lancashire outfit have now won three and drawn three of their last six league outings to move onto 30 points, most recently earning a draw away at Colchester United after picking up an eye-catching 2-0 win over Bradford City as Hallam Hope and Davis Keillor-Dunn got on the scoresheet.
Following their improvements, the Latics now sit just a single point adrift of safety, and they could leap out of the relegation zone with what would be a particularly impressive away victory on Tuesday.
- W
- D
- D
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
- W
- D
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Crawley duo Kwesi Appiah and Jake Hessenthaler were both absent at the weekend due to injuries, and they are not expected to return to fitness in time to feature at the Broadfield Stadium on Tuesday.
Forward Aramide Oteh was also forced off early on Saturday, and Ashley Nadesan should step in from the start after quickly scoring following his introduction off the bench in the first half.
Tom Nichols will also be vying to feature in the attack, having been reduced to substitute appearances recently despite netting eight league goals this term.
John Sheridan should not deviate too far from the team that has looked inspired recently, with Hallam Hope and Davis Keillor-Dunn both coming in with confidence in attack.
The latter has now found the net five times in his last four appearances to take his tally to 11 League Two goals for the season.
Harrison McGahey and Carl Piergianni will continue to play alongside one another at the heart of a much-improved back four.
Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Morris; Ferry, Tunnicliffe, Craig, Lynch, Tsaroulla; Francomb, Payne, Powell; Nadesan, Nichols
Oldham Athletic possible starting lineup:
Rogers; Clarke, McGahey, Piergianni, Hart; Adams, Whelan, Missilou, Stobbs; Hope, Keillor-Dunn
We say: Crawley Town 1-1 Oldham Athletic
As two sides in fine form square off, we see this being a very even encounter and cannot quite pick a winner.
Despite their low standing in the division, Oldham have looked a completely new side in recent weeks, and they will pose a tough test for Yems's men who have fought well against some of the league's best teams this year.
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 Crawley Town win with a probability of 46.85%. A win for Oldham Athletic had a probability of 26.87% and a draw had a probability of 26.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Crawley Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 12%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.1%) and 2-0 (8.77%). The likeliest Oldham Athletic win was 0-1 (8.53%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.46%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
