Setting the scene…
Tranmere Rovers will aim to get back to winning ways when Crawley Town are the visitors to Prenton Park on Saturday in Sky Bet League Two.
Micky Mellon’s men suffered their first defeat in five outings on Tuesday, losing 3-1 away at Forest Green Rovers.
First-half goals from Reece Brown and Liam Shepherd put the hosts in command. Paul Mullin pulled one back late in the match, but Mark Cooper’s side ensured victory in the eighth minute of injury-time through Tahvon Campbell.
Tranmere are seventh heading into the fixture, while Crawley themselves are a point off the Play-Offs, two positions below Rovers following their 1-1 draw with promotion-hopefuls Exeter City on Tuesday.
Team news
Adam Buxton has returned to full training and could be in contention for this weekend’s game. Zoumana Bakayogo is close to a return to training.
Cole Stockton, Liam Ridehalgh and Evan Gumbs are long term absentees.
The Red Devils’ season so far
Crawley have found their form following on from the appointment of Italian boss Gabriele Cioffi back in early September.
The Sussex outfit were 16th at the time of Cioffi coming into the club, after Harry Kewell left to take up the managerial position at fellow League Two side Notts County.
And Cioffi has made an impact in his early tenure at the Broadfield Stadium, leading Crawley to victories over Lincoln City, Morecambe, Yeovil Town, Cambridge United and Newport County.
Currently occupying ninth position in the division, a win at Prenton Park this afternoon could send them into the Play-Offs if results go their way.
One to watch
Following his summer move to Sussex, Filipe Morais has enjoyed a promising start to his Crawley career.
Portuguese-born Morais came through the youth ranks at Chelsea, turning professional at Stamford Bridge under the management of compatriot Jose Mourinho, whilst also spent time away from the club at MK Dons
Morais left Chelsea permanently in 2006, signing for Millwall before being loaned up to Scottish side St Johnstone in January 2007.
Two-years at Hibernian followed for the midfielder, turning out 30 times at Easter Road, before moves to Inverness Caledonian Thistle and a permanent St Johnstone return.
Morais signed for Oldham in 2010, featuring at Boundary Park for two-years, prior to signing for Stevenage and enjoying three successful years at Bradford City.
Re-uniting with former Bantams boss Phil Parkinson at Bolton Wanderers in February 2017, Morais helped the Trotters earn promotion from League One before preserving their Championship status last term.
Signing for Crawley in July on a three-year-deal, the 32-year-old has four goals and two assists to his name, having also served as caretaker manager at the club after Kewell’s departure.
The referee
Tom Nield will be the man in the middle for TRFC vs Crawley Town on Saturday afternoon.
The match at Prenton Park will be Nield’s first Tranmere match of the season.
From the 13 games he has officiated so far, Nield has brandished 40 yellow cards and two red ones.
Thomas Harty and Ken Haycock will run the line while Steven Rushton is the fourth official.
Tickets
Match tickets for Tranmere’s home fixture with Crawley are available to buy online.
You can also purchase tickets for upcoming Sky Bet League Two matches.
Click here: https://www.trfctickets.co.uk/
Match coverage
Can’t make Tranmere’s clash with Crawley Town? Well there are several ways that you can keep in touch with Rovers’ progress on Saturday.
Full match commentary of the match will be exclusively available live from Rovers’ home ground!
You can now sign up to Tranmere Rovers’ iFollow, which allows access to extended highlights and interviews with manager Micky Mellon and a player, after the game.
To sign up, click here
Alternatively, you can follow the action through our social media channels below, with full text coverage during the fixture, followed by a match report.
Twitter: @tranmererovers
Facebook: @trfcofficial
Instagram: @tranmererovers