With their fate already sealed, relegated Crewe Alexandra meet fellow strugglers AFC Wimbledon in Friday afternoon's League One battle.
The hosts' demotion to the fourth tier was confirmed with a 2-0 loss at Doncaster Rovers last week, while Wimbledon managed to hold MK Dons to a 1-1 draw.
Match preview
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With his side now holding the unwanted record of being the first team in the top four divisions to have suffered relegation this season, David Artell's time in the Crewe Alexandra dugout is over.
The league's basement side had to get the better of Doncaster Rovers last week in order to keep any slim hopes of survival alive, but a 10th-minute opener from Tommy Rowe killed those hopes before Josh Martin made sure of the result just after the restart.
Artell was left to reflect on "a season to forget" before parting company with Crewe Alexandra after over five years in the dugout, with his side earning promotion to League One in 2020 before a shockingly abysmal campaign this time around.
Assistant coach Alex Morris will oversee proceedings with the time being, as the Railwaymen endeavour to end an eight-game losing run in the third tier, with the Doncaster defeat also representing their 15th loss from their last 16 games in League One.
Also without a clean sheet in the league since January and losing eight in a row on their own patch since that goalless stalemate with Shrewsbury Town, Crewe Alexandra will hope for some sort of new manager bounce against a side who could very well be joining them in League Two.
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On the verge of a potentially priceless victory against bitter rivals MK Dons at Plough Lane last weekend, Wimbledon skipper Alex Woodyard drew first blood for his side before Tottenham Hotspur loanee Troy Parrott's sumptuous volley rescued a point for the visitors.
The result means that Wimbledon are still searching for their first victory since the turn of the year and have now gone a staggering 24 games without a win in all competitions since beating Accrington Stanley on December 7 - a shocking streak which leaves their survival prospects hanging by a thread.
With only four games left to play in the 2021-22 season, Mark Bowen's men are still in with a chance of clambering to safety as they sit 22nd in the rankings but just three points adrift of 20th-placed Morecambe, while they also have to face 19th-placed Fleetwood Town before the final whistle on the season blows.
While Crewe Alexandra's streak of losses is something to behold, Wimbledon head into Good Friday's game having lost each of their last four on the road, but they did prevail 3-2 when Crewe Alexandra paid a visit to Plough Lane earlier in the season.
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Team News
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Crewe lost centre-back Lewis Billington to an unspecified injury in the dying embers of his debut in the Doncaster loss, with the 18-year-old required in defence after Zac Williams came down with illness in the warm-up.
It remains to be seen if fellow teenager Williams will be fit to take his place in the XI this week, but Billy Sass-Davies was fit to return last weekend despite suffering blood clots in his calf.
Tariq Uwakwe is also struggling with a knee injury, but Mikael Mandron is back in the fold and should spearhead the charge with Chris Long in Morris's maiden game.
As for Wimbledon, Zach Robinson was forced off on the 75-minute mark against MK Dons with a hamstring injury, and Bowen does not expect the striker to play again this season.
On a highly positive note, Luke McCormick, Sam Cosgrove and Lee Brown were all fit to return last weekend, with the former two both coming off the bench unscathed and now in contention for starts.
Aaron Pressley and Cheye Alexander are still absent for the visitors, who should elect to bring Cosgrove straight back in for the injured Robinson up top.
Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup:
Richards; Sass-Davies, Williams, Offord; Ainley, Lowery, Lundstram, Sambou; Kashket; Mandron, Long
AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:
Tzanev; Nightingale, Heneghan, Kalambayi; Lawrence, McCormick, Woodyard, Guinness-Walker; Rudoni; Assal, Cosgrove
We say: Crewe Alexandra 0-1 AFC Wimbledon
Wimbledon will hardly get a better opportunity to pick up their first win of the calendar year, but Crewe Alexandra can now afford to play without fear and could have the new manager bounce in effect right away.
The visitors' form on the road also leaves a lot to be desired, but the return of McCormick certainly aids Wimbledon's prospects going forwards, and we have confidence in Bowen's side to finally claim a priceless three points and boost their survival hopes.
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 AFC Wimbledon win with a probability of 38.38%. A win for Crewe Alexandra had a probability of 35.88% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for an AFC Wimbledon win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.18%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.44%) and 0-2 (6.35%). The likeliest Crewe Alexandra win was 1-0 (8.82%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.2%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 3.6% likelihood.
