Crewe Alexandra host Sunderland tonight with both sides aiming to try and pick up some vital extra points in League One for different reasons at both ends of the table.

David Artell’s side head into the game in search of a much-needed win to help them get their season back on track after they have managed to win just one of their opening 12 games in League One this season.

That leaves them second bottom of the table and three points adrift of safety heading into the game.

Crewe suffered a 3-0 defeat at Fleetwood Town on Saturday in a game that ended their three-match unbeaten run. They will need to show a response to that result against a strong Sunderland side.

A potential unlikley win for Crewe here could well be the result that helps to kick start a revival for them this season as they aim to try and maintain their status at League One level.

Sunderland, meanwhile, head into the game looking to build on the 2-1 win they picked up against Gillingham on Saturday which came despite them going down to ten men after Elliot Embleton was sent off.

That result saw Lee Johnson’s side find a response to the 4-0 defeat they suffered at Portsmouth before the international break. While it also allowed the Black Cats to keep pace with the teams in and around them in the League One table.

A win here could potentially lift Sunderland up a few more places in the table if other results go their way on the night. Therefore, this will be seen as a chance for them to keep their momentum.

With all of that in mind, we take a look at all the things you need to know ahead of this clash.

 Team news

Crewe largely have a strong squad to choose from heading into this game against Sunderland.

Artell indicated in his pre-match press conference that there are places in the side up for grabs following their 3-0 loss at Fleetwood.

The likes of Chris Long and Mikael Mandron will be battling to try and win a place in the starting line-up. While Artell did reveal that Billy Sass-Davies is going from strength to strength after he had more minutes away on international duty with Wales’ under-21s.

Sunderland, meanwhile, have some potential positive team news ahead of the clash with Crewe, with Aiden McGeady described as having a 50/50 chance of making a return to fitness in time to feature.

While Lynden Gooch has been described as having a 70/30 chance against featuring for Sunderland at Crewe according to Johnson.

Both Nathan Broadhead and Niall Huggins though are going to continue to miss out for Sunderland as they recover from their injury setbacks.

Leon Dajaku is also continuing to nurse the thigh strain injury he picked up while on international duty with Germany’s under-20s and it is not known at this point whether he will return to the squad against Crewe.

While Frederik Alves might possibly be able to return to action for Sunderland according to Johnson after he missed out of the squad for the trip to Gillingham due to feeling an issue in his glute.

 

 

Is there a live stream?

As with all mid-week games in the EFL this season there will be a live stream available to supporters of both Crewe and Sunderland for this one.

That is because clubs are permitted to stream their mid-week fixtures live this term on their respective iFollow accounts, which is not the case for weekend games.

As well as the live stream of the game there should also be an audio commentary of the game available via the local radio stations of both clubs and via their iFollow accounts as well.

What time is kick-off?

The game gets underway at Crewe at 7:45 pm and it is one of a full list of League One fixtures that are due to be played this midweek.