Two League One sides in the form of Crewe Alexandra and Rotherham United go in search for a place in the EFL Trophy quarter-finals when they do battle at the Alexandra Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The hosts will be looking to bounce back from their thumping in league action on New Year's Day, whilst the visitors returned to the top of the table with a narrow win.
Match preview
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Crewe could not have got 2022 off to a much worse start than they did on Saturday, with Burton Albion comprehensively seeing them off by a 4-1 scoreline at the Pirelli Stadium.
Despite Tom Lowery equalising inside the 19th minute, David Artell's side found themselves 3-1 down by half time, before their opponents netted a fourth in second-half stoppage time to compound their New Year misery even further.
The Railway Men were well beaten on the day and the result saw them drop a place in the League One table to 23rd, with four points now between themselves and Fleetwood Town outside of the relegation places.
Tuesday's cup tie is sure to be a welcome distraction from Alexandra's dreadful league campaign so far, as they look to book their spot in the next round of a competition that they are yet to concede in this season.
After progressing from their group consisting of Wigan Athletic, Shrewsbury Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21s with a 100% record, Crewe saw off fellow strugglers Doncaster Rovers in round two by a 2-0 scoreline.
Artell knows his side will have to lift their game on Tuesday though, with their visitors being one of the favourites to lift the trophy this year.
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Meanwhile, Rotherham's narrow 2-1 triumph over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday was enough to lift Paul Warne's side back to the summit of the third tier, after Sunderland had initially leapfrogged them two days earlier.
Michael Smith was the hero for the Millers once more, as his 13th and 14th league goals of the season proved to be the difference in a tight encounter that his side were far from their best in.
However, the result was what mattered most for Rotherham though, as victory was the perfect way to bounce back from their 1-0 defeat to Accrington Stanley on Boxing Day.
That loss hurt more than most to Warne and his side, as it was one that ended their 21-game unbeaten run across all competitions, in what has been an incredible season for Rotherham to this point.
Finishing the season with a trophy and promotion back to the Championship would be dreamland for the United supporters, but Crewe will be standing in their way on Tuesday looking to end their search for the EFL Trophy at the third round stage.
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Team News
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Crewe's top goal scorer Mikael Mandron looks set to lead the line again on Tuesday, despite rumours linking the striker with a move to Wigan during the transfer window.
Will Jaaskelainen should regain his spot in goal after featuring in the earlier rounds of the competition, with Dave Richards dropping out of the starting 11.
The likes of Donervon Daniels, Terell Thomas and Scott Robertson will also be pushing for starts, as Artell could look to rotate his side following the hectic schedule over the festive period.
As for the visitors, Mickel Miller will be unavailable once more on Tuesday after the forward missed the win over Bolton due to a hamstring injury.
Angus MacDonald continues to near his return from a long-term injury, but will still remain out until the end of January at least.
No other injury concerns have been reported for the visitors though, who have overcome their recent COVID-19 outbreak over the past couple of weeks.
Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup:
Jaaskelainen; Ramsay, Offord, Thomas, Daniels, Ainley; Lowery, Murphy, Robertson; Porter, Mandron
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Vickers; Harding, Wood, Ihiekwe; Barlaser; Ogbene, Rathbone, Wiles, Ferguson; Smith, Ladapo
We say: Crewe Alexandra 1-2 Rotherham United
Crewe have largely been in better form of late despite their hammering on New Year's Day, but Rotherham have been on another level in League One this season so it is difficult to see past them on Tuesday.
The hosts will be sure to make it difficult for them and we can see them nicking a goal, but the visitors should have enough quality in them to see them through to the next round relatively comfortably.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
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 Rotherham United win with a probability of 56.43%. A draw had a probability of 22.7% and a win for Crewe Alexandra had a probability of 20.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Rotherham United win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.39%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.89%) and 0-2 (9.59%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.72%), while for a Crewe Alexandra win it was 1-0 (5.81%). The actual scoreline of 2-4 was predicted with a 1.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Rotherham United would win this match.
