Our prediction for this League 2 match:
Crawley Town and Salford City, the two teams with entirely different ambitions in the remainder of the season, face each other at the People’s Pension Stadium on Matchday 29. The Red Devils collected only one point in total from the last four league fixtures, and, as a result, their League Two status is in great danger. Crawley are desperate to pick up all three points from Saturday’s clash, but given Salford’s form at the start of 2023, home win should not be considered. A man to keep an eye on in the home team will be Dominic Telford, who scored a brace in a 2-2 draw with Newport.
The Lions, on the other hand, aim to move closer to automatic promotion berth. Following back-to-back wins over Northampton and Sutton, Salford shared the spoils with Colchester in midweek, and we predict that they will take advantage of Crawley’s poor form. January signing Callum Morton is pushing for a start, speaking of the away team.
Highlighted Player (Conor McAleny):
Conor McAleny is a product of Everton youth academy, joining the club from Merseyside in 2003 at the age of 11. Despite the fact that his main position is centre-forward, McAleny is used as both second striker and left winger as well. McAleny did spend his youth career at Goodison Park, but it has to be noted that he made no more than two appearances for the Toffees at senior level.
The English attacker, who was born in Whiston on August 12, 1992, made his first-team debut in a 1-0 Premier League loss to Arsenal on December, 2011. Conor McAleny played for the likes of Scunthorpe United, Brentford, Cardiff City, Charlton Athletic, Wigan Athletic and Oxford United before signing a deal with Fleetwood Town.
The right-footed striker spent the second half of the 2018/2019 season on loan at Kilmarnock, scoring 3 goals in 11 appearances for the club in the Scottish Premier League.
Highlighted Team (Salford):
Founded during the Second World War (1940) as Salford Central, the League Two side play their home games at Moor Lane. The stadium, which was opened in 1978 and renovated in 2019, can hold up to 5,108 spectators. The Lions wear red jerseys and white shorts when playing in front of home fans, while white and black are the dominant colours of their away kit.
Salford City secured promotion to the League 2 at the end of the 2018/19 as they defeated Flyde 3-0 in the National League play-offs final. The match was played at Wembley Stadium, with Touray, Pergianni, and Dieseruvwe scoring for the Lions.
In the 1977/78 season Salford City won their first Manchester Premier Cup trophy, with the team repeating the success the following year. Bury are seen as the club’s main rivals, but their rivalry with the likes of Oldham and Rochdale is pretty big as well.