Two teams who need points for vastly different reasons meet on Tuesday, as 10th-placed Portsmouth make the trip to Gresty Road in order to play Crewe Alexandra.
The hosts are currently bottom of League Two and are in desperate need of some victories if they are to have any hope of staying up this season.
Match preview
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Crewe Alexandra find themselves at the foot of the table right now, and they are eight points adrift of safety after they have managed just six victories throughout the season so far.
After picking up a crucial victory last weekend, the club were handed a 3-1 defeat on Saturday with Sam Vokes and Lewis Wing scoring the goals for Wycombe Wanderers, while Chris Porter got on the scoresheet for his team.
The loss added to their poor form at Gresty Road throughout this campaign, which has been a problem for them, having only won four matches in front of their own fans so far.
Defensively, David Artell's squad have struggled this season, conceding 63 times, which is the third-worst record in League Two, and they are set to face a Portsmouth team who have scored 18 times in their last six performances.
A victory on Tuesday would now change Crewe's league position, but it would place some pressure on the teams above them, which is something they desperately need to start doing.
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Portsmouth have been in devasting form recently, heading into this match undefeated in their previous six matches, which has seen them put together some of their best performances of the season.
The positive results have helped the club push up the league table, as they currently sit in 10th place as a legitimate threat to the playoff positions if they can continue their form.
Only seven points separate them and the top six, and they boast multiple games in hand on many of the teams above them, which will help provide belief that it is an achievable target.
Danny Cowley's men were impressive on Saturday as they defeated Accrington Stanley 4-0, despite the fact that Marcus Harness was sent off in the 21st minute.
George Hirst got himself a brace, while Sean Raggett and Ryan Tunnicliffe also scored, and the confidence they have will be rolling into Tuesday's match against Crewe, who they beat 2-0 previously this season.
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Team News
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Artell is hopeful that Ben Knight and Scott Kashket will be available to make a return in the next few weeks, but this fixture will come too soon for both men to make an appearance.
Crewe will also be without Rio Adebisi, who recently suffered a foot injury that is set to keep him out of action for the next four months as the squad gets stretched.
Portsmouth will be forced into at least one change from the team that won 4-0 on Saturday due to Harness being suspended, which could see Joe Morrell be given a start.
Club captain Clark Robertson was brought back into the team against Accrington, and considering the fact they kept a clean sheet, he could find himself retaining his place.
Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup:
Richards; Johnson, O'Riordan, Offord; Lundstram, Griffiths, Harper, Lowery, Agyei; Porter, Long
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Carter, Raggett, Robertson; Romeo, Tunnicliffe, Thompson, Ogilvie, Morrell; Hirst, O'Brien
We say: Crewe Alexandra 0-3 Portsmouth
Crewe Alexandra need to pick up points soon if they are to have any hope of surviving this season; however, this will prove to be a stern test against a team in great form.
The attacking abilities of Portsmouth is something that will likely make things difficult for the hosts in this match, and Pompey should secure the victory here.
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 Portsmouth win with a probability of 59.56%. A draw had a probability of 21.9% and a win for Crewe Alexandra had a probability of 18.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Portsmouth win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.33%) and 1-2 (9.93%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.4%), while for a Crewe Alexandra win it was 1-0 (5.45%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 6.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Portsmouth would win this match.
