Swindon Town will look to make a return to winning ways in League Two on Tuesday, when they welcome Crawley Town to the County Ground.
Consecutive draws have seen Ben Garner's side drop to seventh place in the League Two table, while their visitors climbed back up to 13th spot after an away win at the weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
Following their relegation from League One last season, Swindon Town have given themselves a strong chance of making an immediate return to the third tier thanks to a strong first-half to the new campaign.
Having won 11 of their 26 games so far, Ben Garner's men sit seventh in the final playoff spot, although they have been held to consecutive draws heading into this weekend's meeting to slightly dampen the camp's spirits.
The Robins firstly had to settle for a share of the spoils with Bristol Rovers on home turf, before they looked set to beat strugglers Colchester United 1-0 on Saturday thanks to Harry McKirdy's goal, only for Emyr Huws to equalise for their hosts in the second minute of added time.
As a result, Garner's side have dropped below Mansfield Town in the race for promotion, although, with Newport County only five points ahead in the automatic promotion spots, they will be keen to bounce back to winning ways to keep their aims of a top-three finish within reach.
© Reuters
They welcome a Crawley side who arrive on a high following an important victory last time out.
After a relatively strong first half to the campaign, John Yems's side saw their playoff hopes take a major hit recently, as a run of games against Carlisle United, Stevenage and Tranmere Rovers produced just a single point, with a draw against the former followed by back-to-back narrow defeats.
In need of a result to reverse their fortunes, the Reds faced the tough task of a trip to Valley Parade to take on a resurgent Bradford City side last time out, and they left with all three points as Tony Craig hit a dramatic 95th-minute winner after Tom Nichols had tied the scores level at 1-1 in the second half.
Having now moved back within seven points of the top seven, the Reds will know that they can keep their faint hopes of a playoff place alive if they can build a winning run on the foundations of Saturday's impressive result.
- D
- W
- L
- W
- D
- D
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Swindon Town will remain without midfielder Jack Payne, who continues to recover from an injury, while experienced defender Mathieu Baudry is again a doubt.
Harry McKirdy will continue to lead the line, having impressed this season with 10 goals alongside four assists in 20 League Two appearances as well as a finish in the Robins' cup defeat to Manchester City.
Midfielder Ben Gladwin will be pushing for a return to the starting XI after he was reduced to a substitute appearance last time out.
After his important equaliser last time out, Tom Nichols will continue to play an important role in the Crawley front line, with Yems likely to again field his preferred 3-4-3 system.
Elsewhere, Saturday's winning goalscorer Tony Craig will continue to feature at the heart of an experienced back three alongside Jordan Tunnicliffe and Joel Lynch.
Swindon Town possible starting lineup:
Ward; O'Brien, Conroy, Odimayo; Reed; Hunt, Williams, Gladwin, Iandolo; Simpson, McKirdy
Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Morris; Tunnicliffe, Craig, Lynch; Davies, Powell, Payne, Tilley; Nadesan, Nichols, Grego-Cox
We say: Swindon Town 2-1 Crawley Town
Having lost ground in the promotion race, Swindon will be desperate to make a return to winning ways on Tuesday, and we just back their strong squad to get over the line on home turf.
While the visitors posted an impressive away result at the weekend, their schedule does not get any easier and Yems's side could just fall short this time.
