Crawley vs Colchester: History in the making

Crawley host Colchester in one of the biggest games in the history of both clubs. For the winner lies a place in the League Cup quarter-final which will see a side from League Two in the hat with five Premier League team and at least one for League One. Have a read of our preview here:

Contrasting preparations

The weekend saw both Colchester and Crawley at home against sides near the top of the League Two table but that is where the similarities ended.

The U’s beat Newport County 3-1 with an impressive display after falling behind and will give them the confidence needed to head back to Crawley, where they lost in the league a few short weeks ago, to attempt to get through to the League Cup quarter-final.

The Reds, on the other hand, were very poor and fell to a 4-0 defeat against Swindon. The result was completely out of character with how they have performed this season even in games where they have been beaten.

The performance on Saturday was flat and ends a run of difficult games in the league that have seen Gabriele Cioffi’s side win only once in the last eight.

Key player: Crawley

For Crawley, the star is undoubtedly summer signed Bez Lubala, suspended against Swindon, who has netted an impressive seven goals in all competitions this season for the Reds.

He is able to run with the ball, using both pace and strength to beat his man and get away a shot. He has not scored since mid-September and Crawley could do with the forward finding his scoring touch for Tuesday’s huge clash.

Lubala has had more shots per game (4.3) than any other player in League Two this season.

When he plays, Crawley look a lot more dangerous and have a better balance with Reece Grego-Cox on the right-hand side of attack and either Mason Bloomfield or Ollie Palmer in the centre.

Key player: Colchester

The U’s have a deep squad full of exciting players, but this season has seen Tom Eastman step up to become a key defender following the exit of Frankie Kent over the summer.

His strength and aerial presences has been very important and he has won 5.6 aerial duels per game, more than any other player in the team.

His partnership with the experienced Luke Prosser has help Colchester go on a decent run which had brought them within four points of the play-off places.

Crawley vs Colchester betting tip

Both sides like to play attacking football and even though the importance of this game might make it a cagey affair backing both teams to score at odds of 4/5 is our tip here.

Bet Both teams to score on William Hill