Colchester United will host Crawley Town at the JobServe Community Stadium this weekend looking to make amends for recent defeats in the league and Trophy.
Matty Etherington’s side are enduring a bumpy patch in the season, but will be aiming to turn things around when thirteenth-placed Crawley Town make the trip to North Essex on Saturday afternoon.
But the U’s boss will be hoping to have additional troops at his disposal this weekend, after John Akinde’s return to action; the powerful-thirty-four-year-old got his first minutes since September in Tuesday’s game.
Owen Goodman could also come back into contention for the U’s, with Mauro Bandeira returning from injury after rehab at Arsenal to take a place amongst the substitutes in the last couple of matches.
The Opposition
Matty Etherington will be particularly familiar with this weekend’s opponents, having spent a brief period in charge of them at the end of 2022.
Now under the stewardship of Scott Lindsey, the Red Devils are suffering a mid-season slump – Saturday’s visitors were 2nd in the standings on 30th September, but have fallen to thirteenth after a run of just two wins in ten, losing seven of those.
However, Crawley did beat League One opposition in their last game, dispatching Bristol Rovers 2-1 in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy on Tuesday evening with Jack Roles and Harry Forster on target.
Danilo Orsi (pictured below) leads the scoring charts with nine goals in nineteen this season, including four in his last five. His summer arrival from Grimsby has seen his most successful season as an EFL player – going beyond his previous best of six for Harrogate in 2021/22.
Fellow summer arrival Liam Kelly has also been an important player for the Red Devils. Making the switch from relegated Rochdale, the former Reading midfielder has assisted six goals in League Two, the fourth highest tally in the division.
Crawley have been able to name a mostly settled defence this season, with Laurence Maguire, Jay Williams and Will Wright making fifteen, eighteen, and twenty three appearances respectively – Scott Lindsey has been able to name the same back three in four of the last five games.
Last Time We Met
The last match against Crawley was a goalless draw at the Broadfield Stadium. Chances came and went for either side, with Ben Garner's side all-but securing their EFL status with a point.
Ticket Info
Tickets are available to purchase from Col U Tickets for this weekend's game - click HERE for more information on pricing and to get yours.
iFollow Info
If you can't make it to the game on Saturday, you can keep up with it via iFollow. Audio Passes (£2.50) are available to supporters in the UK, with Video Passes (£10) available to fans outside the UK. Click HERE to see what options are available for you.
