Crawley v Crewe preview

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Crawley will be without Dannie Bulman when they host Crewe.

The veteran midfielder is suspended after he was sent off towards the end of Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat by Port Vale.

But defender Kyle McFadzean is available again after completing a two-match ban for collecting 10 yellow cards this season, and striker Matt Tubbs hopes to return having missed the last two games with a hamstring strain.

Skipper Josh Simpson will be making his 150th appearance for the Sussex side as they bid to bounce back after four straight defeats.

Crewe will remain without their three long-term absentees for the trip to Crawley.

Defender Harry Davis (knee) has been ruled out for the season while teenage forwards Ryan Colclough (stomach) and Max Clayton (ankle) are still not quite ready to return.

Colclough and Clayton are training again on their own and boss Steve Davis hopes to have them back with the rest of the group for the Alex’s final few fixtures.

On-loan striker Uche Ikpeazu is expected to play despite suffering from stiffness in his ankle, midfielder Abdul Osman has overcome the bout of illness he had earlier in the week while both George Ray and fellow defender Ollie Turton could come into the squad.

Crawley v Crewe preview

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Crawley skipper Josh Simpson hopes to return for the re-arranged visit of the Railwaymen.

The original match was due to be played on Saturday only to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

Six-goal midfielder Simpson has been sidelined for a month after suffering ankle ligament damage during the 1-1 draw against Doncaster but stepped up his training last week.

Defender Joe Walsh would have missed out on Saturday as he was on Wales Under-21 duty but he could now be available.

However, on-loan Millwall striker Aiden O’Brien is with the Republic of Ireland Under-21s for Monday night’s friendly against Portugal.

Centre-half Kyle McFadzean will miss out again as he continues to build up his fitness following the virus which struck him down in November.

Crewe will make late checks on three players.

Saturday’s planned meeting between the two sides was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, but the clubs quickly agreed to a new date.

The delay could prove a welcome boost for Steve Davis’ side as it has given skipper Luke Murphy and winger Byron Moore more time to recover from injury, while Mathias Pogba has returned from international duty.

But the trio will still have to be assessed ahead of the game. Murphy suffered a slight groin injury in last Tuesday’s 2-1 win over MK Dons while Moore is struggling with a dead leg.

Pogba has only just returned to the country after playing half-an-hour for Guinea in their World Cup qualifier against Mozambique on Sunday and may not be risked.

Loanee Brad Inman (ankle) and Jon Guthrie (hernia) are definitely out.