Match Preview :- Crewe Alexandra - Tuesday January 24th, 2017 (19:45:00)

On Tuesday night, Celtic travel to Crewe Alexandra in the Cheshire Senior Cup first-round (kick off 7:45pm). Entry for away fans in this game is a reduced £5. There will be a match centre and Twitter Feed. The winners of this competition will have a home tie against Stockport County.

Crewe sailed past Stockport Town in the preliminary round, beating them 6-0. In the league, they have not had the best of the past few months. Since the start of October, they have won twice, beating Leyton Orient 2-0 away and Morecambe 2-1 at home. In their last ten games, they have won one, drawn two and lost seven. They have not won since November 22nd. Their previous home win was at the start of September, and they have won just three home ties this season. They have six wins in total, and ten draws, giving them twenty-eight points, which sees them sit nineteenth (of twenty-four) in League Division 2, two league's higher than Celtic. They are just five points clear of the drop zone into the Conference National, so could possibly be concentrating on League survival, putting out a weakened team, especially with a six-pointer relegation battle against Cheltenham at the weekend.

Their top scorer this season is Ryan Lowe, with nine goals.

In Crewe's last match, the 3-1 away defeat to Doncaster, Crewe lined up as:
1. Ben Garratt
2. Oliver Turton
3. George Ray
4. Jon Guthrie
5. Zoumana Bakayogo
6. Charlie Kirk
7. James Jones
8. Danny Hollands
9. George Cooper
10. Jordan Bowery
11. Chris Dagnall

Celtic's last match was the 2-2 away draw with Gainsborough Trinity. In that match, Celtic lined up as:
1. Grant Shenton
2. Matty Hughes
3. Danny Wisdom
4. Keil O'Brien
5. Fraser Horsfall
6. Adam Morning
7. Kieran Dunbar
8. Darren McKnight
9. Danny Wilkins
10. Lee Gaskell
11. Adam Mather

The Cheshire Senior cup can be seen as a distraction for Celtic, but this and the Manchester Premier Cups are the only ones we are in any likelihood to win, and winning engenders winning, so a good result against our league hosts is vital.

Directions
Distance: 45
Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Take the M60 to junction 4 and join the M56.
Stay on the M56 for 7 miles to junction 7 and join the A556.
Stay on the A556 for 4 miles to the M6 and join the M6 southbound.
Stay on the M6 for 11 miles to junction 17 (A534, Sandbach).
At the roundabout at the end of the slip road, turn right (3 of 4) onto the A534.
Saty on thye A534 for 6 miles.
Take the first left after the station onto Gresty Road, and the ground is just down on the left.