Crawley Town vs Tranmere Prediction & Betting Tips

Form has swung firmly Tranmere's way

Over their last 20 matches in all competitions, Tranmere have won five, drawn eight and lost seven, a record built on staying difficult to beat rather than scoring for fun. Their recent league form includes wins over Oldham and Shrewsbury, plus draws against Rotherham, Newport and Port Vale, with only a loss to Gillingham breaking up the sequence.

Crawley Town: 20 completed matches; Tranmere: 20 completed matches.

Crawley Town

20 matches

Win

25% 5 / 20

Draw

20% 4 / 20

Loss

55% 11 / 20

Scored

19

Conceded

30

Difference

-11

Tranmere

20 matches

Win

25% 5 / 20

Draw

40% 8 / 20

Loss

35% 7 / 20

Scored

21

Conceded

24

Difference

-3

Crawley's equivalent sample reads very differently: five wins, four draws and eleven losses, with goals conceded outnumbering goals scored by more than ten. Their last several league outings have brought defeats to Cheltenham, Grimsby and Accrington, with a solitary win over Rochdale standing out as the exception.

Tranmere go into this one with the better recent rhythm, even allowing for the odd rough result.

Comparative Team Statistics: Crawley Town vs Tranmere

History offers no clear edge

The most recent meetings have gone one apiece: Tranmere won 2-0 at home back in February, while Crawley returned the favour with a 2-0 win of their own the previous August. Look further back and the head-to-head record is littered with narrow scorelines in both directions, including a 5-1 Tranmere win and a 4-0 Crawley win among the more one-sided results.

None of that history is from this season, so it's more context than form guide, but it does show these two have rarely been far apart when they've met.

The table backs up the form

Tranmere sit 10th after seven league games, with ten points from two wins and four draws. Crawley have taken just four points from the same number of matches, sitting down in 24th.

It's still early days, seven games each, so there's time for things to change. But right now the gap between the two clubs on the pitch matches what the form guide suggests.

Discipline could be a factor

Card counts suggest referees have had plenty to deal with in recent Crawley matches. Farquharson and Arthurs have each picked up four yellows in seven appearances, and both Ebiowei and Gordon have already seen red this season in limited outings.

Crawley Town:

Penalty cards:

M. Ebiowei x 1 x 1

K. Gordon x 1

P. Farquharson x 4

Tranmere:

Penalty cards:

B. Faulkner x 1 x 1

N. Smith x 3

J. Slater x 3

Tranmere's Faulkner has also been sent off once in five matches, while Smith has three yellows from seven, so neither side is squeaky clean on that front.

With both sides carrying disciplinary risk, a card or two changing the shape of the game wouldn't be a shock.