Preview:Crawley Town vs Newport County - prediction, team news, lineups

Crawley Town will be looking to bounce back to winning ways in League Two when they take on Newport County at the Broadfield Stadium on Saturday.

The visitors drew 1-1 against Notts County in their opening game, and like their opponents, are keen to register their first victory of the 2025-26 season.

Match preview

After spending nine seasons in League Two, Crawley returned to League One via the fourth-tier playoffs in 2024, but their stint was short-lived.

The Red Devils are back in League Two again following a 21st-place finish, ending up one point behind Burton Albion in the safety of 20th spot after conceding a league-high 83 goals.

Scott Lindsey, in his second spell at the club, will look to emulate what he did in his previous stint, but they have made a poor start to the season.

In the opening game, Crawley were thoroughly outplayed as they lost 3-0 against Grimsby Town, having gone 2-0 down in the first half itself.

They enjoyed a relatively strong pre-season, scoring five goals on three occasions and also winning 1-0 against Portsmouth.

Newport started the new season strongly by booking themselves into the EFL Cup first-round proper after beating Barnet on penalties.

The game ended 2-2 in normal time, and the Exiles then went on to win the contest 4-2 on penalties in a thrilling contest to set up a meeting with Millwall in the next round of the competition.

In the league opener, the match was delayed as the stadium was evacuated following a medical emergency involving a supporter.

After a goalless opening 45 minutes, the home side took the lead through Ged Garner on his league debut, but the lead lasted only 15 minutes after Jodi Jones equalised from the penalty spot.

Crawley Town League Two form:

Newport County League Two form:

Team News

Crawley's Harry Forster, 25, was forced off in the first half against Grimsby and was replaced by Antony Papadopoulos.

The winger, who signed a new one-year contract in June, is doubtful for the next game, and Papadopoulos could come into the starting lineup.

Gavan Holohan looked ineffective in the previous game and was taken off before the hour mark. The 33-year-old midfielder could be dropped for this game, with Louie Shaun Watson likely to replace him.

Ben Llyod joined Newport in the summer on loan from Swansea City, and he was tipped to become one of the club's star players this season.

The 20-year-old was drafted straight into the starting XI, but was taken off at the break, with full-back Cameron Evans replacing him.

Garner, who joined from AFC Barrow this summer, was also taken off after he scored, but he is likely to retain his place in the starting lineup.

Crawley Town possible starting lineup:

Davies; Barker, Conroy, Flint; McKirdy, Watson, Williams, Scott, Papadopoulos; Brown, Tshimanga

Newport County possible starting lineup:

Tzanev; Thomas, Jenkins, Clarke, Baker, Davies; Antwi, Whitmore, Llyod; Reindorf, Garner