Crewe Alexandra travel to face Grimsby Town in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night (August 9, 745pm).
Alex Morris's men will be aiming to make it three wins on the spin at the start of the 2022-23 campaign, while newly-promoted Grimsby are looking for their first success of the season after a defeat and a draw so far.
It will be the first meeting between the clubs since September 2019, when goals from Tom Lowery and Charlie Kirk earned The Railwaymen a 2-0 victory.
The Opposition
The Mariners were promoted back to the EFL at the first time of asking, last season. After finishing sixth in the National League, they equalised against Notts County in the 96th minute before winning in extra-time of the first Play-Off eliminator.
In the semi-final, a 119th-minute goal earned a dramatic 5-4 win at Wrexham. And in the final against Solihull Moors, it was a 111th minute clincher in a 2-1 win at Wembley.
They kicked off their League Two campaign with a 2-0 loss at Leyton Orient, which was followed by a creditable 1-1 draw with Northampton Town.
The Gaffer
Paul Hurst is in his second spell as Grimsby boss, and has taken charge of more than 250 games in total. The former Rotherham defender led them to promotion from non-league in 2015-16 before spells at Shrewsbury, Ipswich and Scunthorpe. He returned to Blundell Park in 2020 and again guided them to promotion earlier this year.
Fighting Talk
Alex Morris: "I place a lot of importance on a cup run, this club hasn’t had many over the last 20-25 years and we should have done with some of the teams and players we have had. We expect to go there and win the game."
Paul Hurst: "We’re having to ask the players to learn quickly, and it is far from perfect. There is still a lot of growth left in this team regarding their fitness and the players getting to know each other."
Team news
Alex Morris has reported no new fresh concerns, after allaying fears that Zac Williams picked up a knock last time out. He expects to still be without Christopher Long, Dave Richards and Rio Adebisi as they continue working towards full fitness.
Grimsby will be without striker John McAtee, who recently signed for Luton but was loaned back for the rest of the season, because he needs surgery on a shoulder injury.
Head to Head
Crewe and Grimsby have both won 25 of the clashes between the clubs, with the other 15 contests ending in a draw.
Officials
Adam Herczeg, who has only stepped up to EFL level this season and is based in County Durham, will be the man in the middle.
Assistant referees are Michael George and Lee Freeman, while Stephen Wade is fourth official.
Ticket Details
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