Crawley Town v Hartlepool preview: Reds' run of five home matches out of six starts against Pools

The sides met on the opening day of the season as Hartlepool scored a late winner, courtesy of Gavan Holohan, as Pools snatched a victory.

However, Hartlepool come into the contest struggling for form with no league win in their last seven attempts, before their game against Barrow in the week.

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Pools have been going strong in cup competitions, as they are in the semi-final of the EFL Trophy and were knocked out in the FA Cup last weekend to Premier League Crystal Palace.

There was certainly nothing to be ashamed of from Hartlepool who put in a good account of themselves at Selhurst Park but were beaten 2-0.

Pools’ away form has been damaging for their season with just one win and six points picked up on the road, giving them the worst record in League Two.

That one win came back in October, as they went to Bradford City and picked up a 3-1 victory.

Scoring goals has been Hartlepool’s biggest problem, only managing 25 in 27 league games and their top scorer being on four goals.

Overall, they haven’t had a bad first season back in the EFL so far, sitting in the bottom half of the table but comfortably away from the relegation zone.

They’ll be facing a Crawley side who’ll look to put in a much better performance than they did on the opening day, where they didn’t even manage a shot on target.

The Reds have been putting in some good performances recently but have been struggling to see games out till the end.

Crawley will be disappointed with their home record so far this season and need to pick up some more wins on home soil if they are to climb the league table.

Against a side with a record as poor as Hartlepool’s on the road will give the Reds belief that they can get their first home win since New Year’s Day.