Crewe Alexandra and Derby County kick off their FA Cup campaign with a first round clash at Mornflake Stadium on Sunday. Both teams have shown some good form in recent weeks but Derby should have the upper hand given their superior quality.
It has been a decent start to the campaign for Crewe Alexandra, who are challenging for the playoff places in League Two. They will be looking to boost their confidence with a deep cup run and some giant killing starting on Sunday.
Crewe Alexandra have shown some good form in recent weeks, claiming three wins in their last four matches. They head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a 1-0 League One victory at Harrogate Town with Zac Williams’ first half effort proving the difference.
While things have been generally solid for Crewe Alexandra, they have been a bit unconvincing in front of their fans. Lee Bell’s men have lost two of their last three matches at Mornflake Stadium and were beaten 2-0 by Stockport County in their previous home fixture.
Playing one tier higher than their hosts, Derby County have also been decent this season and are closing in on a League One playoff spot. Having progressed all the way to the fourth round of the FA Cup last season, they will be targeting something similar on Sunday.
There has been a slight inconsistency with Derby County in recent weeks as they have picked up three wins and suffered two defeats from their last five matches. They did claim a 4-0 victory over Northampton Town in their previous League One clash with Max Bird netting a brace.
Derby County do not travel to Mornflake Stadium with the best record on the road having lost their last two away matches. However, prior to those results, they had been unbeaten in six of their last seven away matches, claiming five wins in that run.
How the bookies view it
Derby County have been installed as overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 5/6 by William Hill to claim the win. Crewe Alexandra are considered outsiders with a home win valued at 16/5 by Unibet, who is also offering odds of 11/4 for a draw.
Head to head
Crewe Alexandra have a 4-2 advantage with two draws from eight previous matches against Derby County. However, the last meeting between both sides was a friendly back in 2011 which ended 2-1 in favour of the hosts.
Players to watch
Chris Long is the leading scorer for Crewe Alexandra having found the net seven times in League Two already. The forward could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime on Sunday at 10/3 with bet365.
Martyn Waghorn is also enjoying a decent start to the season and has scored six League One goals so far. The striker is priced at 7/4 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Wednesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Crewe Alexandra and Derby County have some quality in attack and both teams could be backed to score at 4/5 with Betfred. There were over 3.5 goals in Derby’s previous away fixture and a repeat is priced at 12/5 by BetVictor while over 2.5 goals is valued at 10/11 by 10bet.
Derby County scored in both halves in their previous outing and Sunday’s clash could be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 19/10 with BoyleSports.
This FA Cup match between Crewe Alexandra and Derby County will be played on Nov 5, 2023 and kick off at 14:45. Check below for our tipsters best Crewe Alexandra vs Derby County prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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