High-flying Carlisle United will be bidding to make it back-to-back victories in League Two when they continue their campaign away to Crewe Alexandra on Thursday night.
The visitors are currently fourth in the table, boasting 36 points from their opening 22 matches of the campaign, while Crewe sit 17th, 10 points above the relegation zone at this stage of the season.
Match preview
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Crewe were relegated from League One last season, only picking up 29 points from their 46 matches, which left them 11 points behind 20th-place Fleetwood Town.
The Alex are back in League Two after two seasons in the third tier, and it has been a struggle for the team this term, only picking up 25 points from their opening 20 matches to sit down in 17th position.
Crewe are 10 points clear of the relegation zone, though, and actually only 10 points off the playoffs, which is an indication of how quickly things could change in terms of their position.
Lee Bell's side will enter this match off the back of three straight defeats to Barnsley, Newport County and Stockport County, with the first of those coming in the FA Cup.
On Monday, Crewe suffered a 2-0 defeat at Stockport in League Two, with Paddy Madden and Will Collar finding the back of the net for the home side in the Boxing Day encounter.
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Carlisle, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 victory over Bradford in League Two on Monday, with Paul Huntington's first-half effort deciding the contest.
The result moved the Cumbrians into fourth position in the table, seven points behind third-placed Northampton Town on the same number of matches (22).
There are actually only four points separating 10th-placed Salford City from Carlisle in fourth, so their position in the table could easily change with a couple of bad results in quick succession.
Paul Simpson's side have lost just one of their last seven in the league, and they will now be bidding to finish 2022 with another positive result before travelling to Doncaster Rovers on New Year's Day.
Carlisle have been in League Two since their relegation from League One in 2014, so it would be an impressive achievement for them to secure a return to the third tier of English football.
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Crewe boss Bell is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack from the defeat to Stockport, as there were positives from the 2-0 loss on Boxing Day.
Daniel Agyei has scored six league goals this season and will again feature in a wide area, while Bassala Sambou is also set to start despite not yet finding the back of the net in League Two this term.
Bell will need to assess the fitness of his players before deciding on a starting side, with Zac Williams set to be fit despite his withdrawal against Stockport last time out.
As for Carlisle, head coach Simpson could select the same side that took to the field for the first whistle against Bradford on Boxing Day.
Huntington scored the only goal of the contest and will again line up in the middle of the defence, with the visitors again set to play a 5-3-2 formation.
Jack Stretton has scored twice in League Two this season and is again expected to feature alongside Jordan Gibson in the final third of the field for this match.
Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; McDonald, Adebisi, Williams, Thomas; Colkett, Uwakwe, King, Agyei; Sambou, Tabiner
Carlisle United possible starting lineup:
Holy; Ellis, Feeney, Huntington, Mellish, Armer; Moxon, Guy, Charters; Gibson, Stretton
We say: Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Carlisle United
Carlisle will be bidding to make it back-to-back victories on Thursday, and we are backing the visitors to triumph here. Crewe have lost their last three during a disappointing run, and we are predicting a narrow defeat for the home side in this contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Matt Law
