Scunthorpe United v Crawley Town preview: Reds road trip continues with visit to the Iron

Crawley Town certainly wouldn’t have had much, if any, time on the training pitch this week as they play Scunthorpe on Friday following a trip to Carlisle on Tuesday night.
Tom Nichols netted his first goal for Crawley Town against Scunthorpe United at the start of the campaign. Picture by Steve RobardsTom Nichols netted his first goal for Crawley Town against Scunthorpe United at the start of the campaign. Picture by Steve Robards
Tom Nichols netted his first goal for Crawley Town against Scunthorpe United at the start of the campaign. Picture by Steve Robards

It’s a first trip to Scunthorpe for Crawley since the start of last season where the Reds picked up a 2-2 draw.

They’ll be hoping to go one better this season and this is of course a much different squad and managerial team to the one that went to Scunthorpe last season.

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The fixture list and injuries aren’t being kind to Crawley at the moment with a number of players out injured and fixtures coming thick and fast.

This is where Crawley’s squad depth comes in very useful as there is good cover all over the pitch this season, which they may not have had in previous seasons.

Having this cover allows Crawley to adapt and change formation and play styles as much as they need to between and within games which allows them to become almost unpredictable.

Crawley’s first win of this season came against Friday’s opponents, with Tom Nichols’ first goal for the club snatching all three points on the second day of the season.

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That was the start of a phenomenal campaign for Nichols who has been excellent for Crawley this season, consistently working his socks off.

The game against Port Vale saw Nichols complete his 20th consecutive 90 minutes, which is an unbelievable record for the amount of times he gets fouled and the tight fixture schedule.

Nichols will certainly be in with a shout for player of the season at the end of the season but he will look to add to his goal tally against a Scunthorpe side who have kept eight league clean sheets this season.

The Iron have eased any relegation worries and look set for a mid-table finish this season as they sit in 16th place.

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Ryan Loft is the man who stands out for Scunthorpe, being their top scorer and provider so far in the league this campaign.

The big striker has eight goals and six assists to his name and is a very valuable player in Scunthorpe’s system.

Loft’s versatility is key. His ability to be a big strong target man or a clinical finisher is useful to Scunthorpe going forward.

He’ll be a handful for the Crawley back line but if they can keep him out they stand a good chance of picking something up from the game.

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