Crewe Alexandra v Doncaster Rovers Match Preview
by The Rovers Review
It's four out of four now for Darren Fergusons' men in all competitions, keeping three out of four clean sheets too, but will we be able to keep up this Saturday as we face Crewe Alexandra, who dropped down to league two with us last season?
Ferguson will be without both recognisable right-backs, Mitchell Lund and Craig Alcock, and will be looking to fill that position in with new signing Frazer Richardson, who joined on a two-month deal on Tuesday. Joe Wright will also be available after leaving the Wales U21 squad, due to, 'injury', but he still featured on Tuesday night v Mansfield Town for 90 minutes, so I presume he'll start again.
Riccardo Calder and Alfie Beestin will be pushing for a start after scoring in the win v Mansfield on Tuesday, but I can see Ferguson keeping the team in the league the same as what it was v Yeovil, obviously without the injured, Mitchell Lund.
During Tuesday night's game, Ferguson played primarily with a 3-4-3 formation, that seemed to of worked, so the question is, will he revert back to 4-4-2 or continue with the 3-4-3. Personally I think if he sticks with the team that beat Yeovil, he should stick to 4-4-2.
At the time of writing this, it's early hours into the transfer deadline day, and Ferguson is keen on bringing in a striker in on-loan, but at this moment in time I think, yes, we do need to sign a striker, but I think Marquis and Williams should start Saturday as now they have begun scoring we need to keep playing them.
Last time we faced Crewe was at the end of April when they effectively relegated us to League Two by beating us 3-1. A goal from Tommy Rowe gave us the early lead in that game, but it wasn't enough to keep us up, as Crewe hit back in the second half to send us down. Alex, however, have only managed one win out of the first five games of the EFL season on the opening day of the season, so they may still be fragile. Meanwhile Rovers are finding their momentum, which will hopefully work in our favour. Chris Dagnall, Alex Kiwomya and Ryan Lowe are all players to watch out for, for our defence, as they've all netted three goals each this season, so one thing is for sure, they're no stranger to scoring goals.
Since 1924, Doncaster have beaten Crewe 41 times, and they've only beaten us 32 times, so as far as stats go, we have the upper hand this weekend, but will we manage to gain revenge for their victory that consequently got us relegated last season?
Predicted lineup v Crewe Alexandra
Marosi; Richardson, Wright, Butler, Evina; Houghton, Rowe, Coppinger, Blair; Marquis and Williams.
