Crewe Alexandra travel to take on promotion-chasers Northampton Town this weekend (Saturday, 3pm).

Lee Bell’s side will look to respond after coming away from Stevenage empty-handed in midweek.

The Opposition

Northampton sit fourth in League Two on 63 points, a point away from the automatic promotion places with only 10 fixtures to go.

Their recent form has been consistent, picking up 11 points from a possible 15 in their last five fixtures, including a 1-0 victory over fellow promotion-chasers Mansfield Town last time out, courtesy of a Jack Sowerby winner.

The Gaffer

Jon Brady was appointed first team manager of Northampton on a permanent basis in May 2021, after having been in charge temporarily for three months.

Part of the coaching set-up since 2016, Brady nearly guided the Cobblers to promotion last year. But Bristol Rovers pulled off one of the greatest final-day victories over Scunthorpe United to deny them.

Fighting Talk

Jon Brady: “Crewe are a team that have really improved since Christmas, they’ve had some very tough games recently and haven’t lost many. We will have to be at our best to get a result at home and we really need the fans right behind us again to kick ourselves on.”

Alex Morris (Assistant Manager): “Northampton are a team full of good, solid League Two players, but they also have quality on top of that. Hoskins in the top scorer in the league, so they certainly have firepower, and they have options from the bench. We expect them to have territory and load the ball into our box, and we have to stand up to those challenges.”   

Team News

Northampton remain without Ali Koiki, Ben Fox, Akin Odimayo, Danny Hylton, Tyler Magloire and Shaun McWilliams for Saturday’s encounter.

Crewe will assess the fitness of Ryan Finnigan and Tariq Uwakwe for Saturday’s trip as both were forced off with muscle injuries in midweek. Rod McDonald will serve his final match of a three-game suspension, whilst Christopher Long and Zac Williams are a couple of weeks away from featuring.

Head-to-Head

Northampton currently boast the best record in this fixture with 29 victories compared to the Alex’s 26, though The Railwaymen have had better fortunes in their last three encounters with two wins.

Last time out, it was the Cobblers who had the final say as they equalised deep into stoppage time to make it 2-2 earlier on this campaign.

Officials

Andrew Kitchen has been appointed referee for Saturday’s fixture, having last officiated the Alex earlier on this season in November, an impressive 1-0 away victory against Swindon Town.

He will be assisted by Mark Jones and Christopher Hubbard, with Darren Wilding filling in as fourth official.

Ticket Details

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How To Get There

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Elsewhere in League Two

AFC Wimbledon v Crawley Town; Bradford City v Hartlepool United; Carlisle United v Stevenage; Harrogate Town v Barrow; Leyton Orient v Colchester United; Rochdale v Swindon Town; Salford City v Doncaster Rovers; Stockport County v Mansfield Town; Tranmere Rovers v Newport County; Walsall v Gillingham.

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