Derby County and Crewe Alexandra Square off in an FA Cup first round replay after battling to a thrilling draw in the first meeting. Derby will be relying on their superior quality and with Tuesday’s clash being played at Pride Park, they will be confident of completing the job in front of their fans.
Derby County fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw in the first meeting with Crewe Alexandra. They looked down and out for much of the encounter before Nathaniel Mendez-Laing pulled one back a minute from time and Conor Hourihane struck the equaliser deep into added time.
While manager Paul Warne will be pleased with Derby County’s character to fight back, he will be disappointed that they laboured against a League Two team. The Rams have picked up two straight wins since that draw, including a 3-0 victory over Barnsley in a League One clash last Saturday.
The victory over Barnsley extends a solid record at Pride Park for Derby County, who are unbeaten in their last eight home matches across all competitions. They have picked up six wins in that run, including a few one-sided results like the 4-1 victory over Wolves U21 in the EFL Trophy.
Crewe Alexandra will be disappointed to be having a replay after holding the lead deep into added time in the first meeting. They had looked certain of victory following strikes from Courtney Baker-Richardson and Elliott Nevitt but suffered a late capitulation.
While it was a disappointing turn of events, Crewe Alexandra’s overall form remains solid as they are unbeaten in five of the last six matches. Lee Bell’s men have claimed four wins in that run, including a 1-0 victory over Notts County in a League Two fixture last Saturday.
Crewe Alexandra appear to be doing well on their recent travels, winning their last two away matches However, a closer look at their record on the toad shows only three wins in the last 10 matches across all competitions.
How the bookies view it
Derby County are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 4/11 by Ladbrokes. A victory for Crewe Alexandra is valued at 15/2 by Coral while Betfred is offering odds of 9/2 for a draw.
Players to watch
Crewe Alexandra have a 4-2 victory with three draws from nine previous matches against Derby County. Prior to the first fixture, the previous meeting between both teams was a friendly in 2011 which ended 2-1 in favour of Crewe.
Players to watch
James Collins was not on target in the first meeting but is considered Derby County’s most dangerous attacker. The forward has five goals in the last two matches and is priced at 5/4 by bet365 to score anytime on Tuesday.
Courtney Baker-Richardson showed his quality in the first meeting and could be worth keeping an eye on for Crewe Alexandra. The attacker has scored in his last two matches and is priced at 2/1 by bet365 to score anytime on Tuesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Having produced over 3.5 goals in the first meeting a similar outcome could be expected on Tuesday at 11/8 with BetVictor. Both teams were on target in the second half last time out and a repeat is priced at 9/4 by William Hill.
With Derby County often dominant at home, a -2 handicap could be considered at 10/11 with William Hill. The Rams could also be tipped to win both halves at 21/10 with Paddy Power.
This FA Cup match between Derby County and Crewe Alexandra will be played on Nov 14, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Derby County vs Crewe Alexandra prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
