Crawley Town v Rochdale preview: Can Reds follow-up Swindon win with three points against the Dale?

The Reds picked up a very impressive three points as they saw off promotion chasing Swindon, courtesy of goals from Isaac Hutchinson, Tom Nichols and Kwesi Appiah.

Appiah played a big part in the reverse fixture against Saturday’s opponents Rochdale, with his goal being the match winner in a 1-0 victory for Crawley.

Crawley will be optimistic of inflicting another defeat on their opponents as Rochdale come into the clash winless in their last five.

Having only scored two goals in this time Rochdale are going through a sticky patch at the moment as they are struggling to find the back of the net. The departure of top scorer Jake Beesley in January certainly hasn’t helped as he left the club to join Blackpool.

However, he was replaced as Dale signed striker Tavhon Campbell, but he is yet to hit the heights of Beesley. Campbell has managed two goals in 12 games for Rochdale and hasn’t scored in his last five games.

It certainly isn’t ideal for Dale, who aren’t completely safe from relegation from League Two just yet, although it does seem unlikely that they will suffer back-to-back relegations.

Crawley will be looking to inflict more damage on their opponents and have shown good character to bounce back from a very poor performance at Port Vale.

Games against Exeter and Swindon, despite being short on bodies, have been really good performances for Crawley and they deserved more than the three points they picked up from those two games.

With a mid-table finish almost certain The Reds are trying to rally and finish the season strongly, with just nine games left to play.

A win for Crawley could see them move into the top half of the table, depending on results elsewhere.

Last time the sides met it was a very close, entertaining match, which Crawley edged, and we should be in for another closely fought clash on Saturday afternoon.

See also Crawley Town player ratings - Hutchinson notches up first goal for club and top scorer Appiah adds to his season's tally /Revealed: The dirtiest teams in League Two, the club yet to get a red card all season and where Crawley Town, Northampton Town, Swindon Town and Leyton Orient rank | What is the most expensive away day in League Two? And where do Crawley Town, Bristol Rovers and Northampton Town rank?

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