Doncaster Rovers v Crewe Alexandra Match Preview
by The Rovers Review
Rovers face Crewe Alexandra at the Keepmoat in a hope to keep their undefeated start 2017.
Liam Mandeville has now returned from injury, and will come back into contention. He'll be pressuring Andy Williams, who hasn't scored in the league since returning from injury himself.
Mitchell Lund is another youngster, who has recovered from injury, but with Matty Blair and Craig Alcock battling over the right-back position you can see that it's going to be hard for Lund to get a shout. Ferguson has even commented that he's looking to send Lund out on a one-month loan during this window.
Left-back Tyler Garratt won't be featuring in the first team for the remainder of the season after extending his loan with Eastleigh. This gives Niall Mason a chance to make the left-back position his own, although he needs to make up for his mistakes in previous matches, such as being responsible for Barnet's goal just the other weekend.
Head-to-head
Rovers remain unbeaten at home this season, while Crewe are poor away from home, picking up a total of 14 points from a possible 39. This match will see David Artell take charge of his second game for Crewe after losing his first.
Rovers manager Darren Ferguson will be taking charge of his 70th game v Crewe and will be looking to make it 30 out of 70 wins in charge.
Player to watch
Loanee Alex Kiwomya is the player to watch for Crewe. He is also Jordan Houghton's team mate from Chelsea and causes a threat from Crewe's midfield. Crewe striker, Ryan Lowe is their top goalscorer with 9 goals scored so far this season.
Previous encounters
The last encounter with crewe was in September 2016, where we lost 2-1 with goals from Ryan Lowe and James Jones and Tommy Rowe making the defeat less embarrassing, scoring from the penalty spot. Last time Crewe came to the Keepmoat it was the dramatic late 3-2 win before Christmas in 2015. Goals from Conor Grant, Andy Williams and Cameron Stewart earned Rovers three points that day back in league one.
Predicted lineup v Crewe Alexandra
Lawlor; Blair, Butler, Baudry, Mason; Houghton, Grant, Rowe, Coppinger; Marquis and Williams.
