The opposition: Crewe Alexandra look to extend strong record against Shrewsbury Town
Crewe Alexandra will look to continue their impressive recent record against Shrewsbury Town this weekend.
History is firmly on the side of the Railwaymen. Shrewsbury are winless in their last five home matches against Crewe, losing four in a row before a 1-1 draw the last time the sides met in Shropshire in September 2021.
That trend extends across all competitions, with Salop without a victory in their last six meetings with Crewe. Their most recent success came in November 2020, when they secured an away win in the EFL Trophy.
Crewe arrive firmly in the play-off picture, sitting just two points adrift of the top seven. They earned a late point at Cheltenham Town in midweek - who defeated Salop last weekend.
However, defensively, Crewe have kept just two clean sheets in their last 20 away league matches, and only one in their previous 11.
Boss Lee Bell is fully aware of the tight margins in the race for the top seven.
He said: "I hope we are involved in it all the way to the end, we will certainly be giving it a go.
"At the moment it looks like there is possible only one place available and a lot of us have all got to play each other. It's going to go right down to the wire."
Former Salop loanee Tommi O’Reilly struck against his old club in the reverse fixture last November, and he could feature again this weekend.
Another familiar face may also be involved, with Mickey Demetriou - a key figure in Shrewsbury’s promotion-winning side of 2014/15.
A strong away following is set to back the visitors, with more than 1,700 Crewe supporters expected to make the trip.
"We haven't played each other for a few years," Bell added. "They have really turned results around and there is a feel good factor.
"We have got to go there and give it a go and hopefully have a good afternoon."
