Wycombe Wanderers will take on Crawley Town at Adams Park in the 2024-25 EFL Trophy on Tuesday, hoping to pick up a win that could lift them to second place in Group J.
The visitors, currently bottom of the group with two points, could also climb to second spot with a victory in this clash.
Match preview
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Wycombe are enjoying a fantastic season so far – currently top of League One with 32 points from 14 matches and on a nine-match unbeaten run across all competitions.
In their most recent game, the Chairboys secured a 1-0 win over Wigan in a League One clash on Saturday, extending their winning streak to seven matches across all competitions.
Matt Bloomfield will hope his side can maintain this winning form when they face Crawley Town on Tuesday, having already suffered a 1-0 defeat to AFC Wimbledon in their opening EFL Trophy game.
Wycombe bounced back with a 5-3 win over Brighton U-21 in the second game, leaving them with three points and in third place, but the hosts will not want to build on that when they face a side they have beaten in their last three meetings.
The Chairboys reached the final of the EFL Trophy for the first time in their history last season, but they lost 2-1 to Peterborough United, and could not get their hands on the trophy, a feat they will be hoping to achieve this time.
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Crawley, who secured promotion back to League One for the first time since 2014-15 last season, lost manager Scott Lindsey to MK Dons, with former Newcastle United goalkeeper Robert Elliot coming in as his replacement.
Ironically, Elliot's first game in charge was against Wycombe in a League One fixture, and he narrowly lost 1-0, which set the tone for consecutive losses in his first four matches in charge, including a 4-3 defeat to Wimbledon in an EFL Trophy clash.
Elliot has won just two of the nine matches he has managed, and is unbeaten in the last three matches, but the team are now winless in the last two fixtures, drawing both matches heading into this game.
The Red Devils could not hold on to the lead twice in their most recent match, drawing 2-2 with Huddersfield in a League One game on Saturday.
Crawley's last win against Wycombe was away at Adams Park in 2017, a result Elliot will hope his side can replicate on Tuesday for a chance to reach second in Group J after three matches.
Team News
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Bloomfield has no reason to worry, as he has a full-strength Wycombe squad to choose from ahead of Tuesday's clash.
Beryly Lubula is the competition's joint-top scorer after netting four in the win over Brighton, which might see him return to lead the attack, with Richard Kone getting a rest.
Crawley Town will remain without defenders Dion Conroy, who is yet to feature this season due to injury, and Josh Flint, who has been out since their 3-0 defeat to Northampton Town.
Elliot is likely to retain his best XI for this clash, which means Will Swan is expected to lead the attack once again.
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Ravizzoli; Pattenden, Low, Taylor, Harvie; Morley, Scowen; Onyedinma, Humphreys, Udoh; Lubula
Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Trueman; Mullarkey, Mukena, Barker; Forster, Camara, Anderson, Kelly; Quitirna, Darcy; Swan
We say: Wycombe Wanderers 2-0 Crawley Town
Wycombe are on fire at the moment, having scored more than two goals in five of their last six wins, which is why we expect the hosts to pick up another victory here against a Crawley side that are still finding their feet under a new manager.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
