Preview: Crawley Town vs. Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups

Birmingham City will look to claim a seventh consecutive victory in all competitions when they travel to Broadfield Stadium on Monday.

The hosts are in second spot in the League One table, while the visitors are languishing in the relegation zone.

Match preview

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Crawley are sitting one point adrift from safety after winning five, drawing four and losing 10 of their 19 league matches this season.

The Reds recently put together a five-game unbeaten run, playing out three consecutive draws before recording back-to-back wins over Rotherham United and Charlton Athletic.

Those two victories moved them outside the drop zone, but they fell back into the bottom three with a 4-3 defeat in last Saturday's away clash against Peterborough United despite fighting back from 3-1 down to level the scoreline at 3-3.

After falling short at the Weston Homes Stadium, Crawley will now return to Broadfield Stadium, where they have taken seven points from their last three home matches.

Scoring the first goal may be crucial if they are to claim another positive result, having lost 10 of their 11 league games where they have conceded first this season.
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Birmingham will carry significant momentum into Monday's fixture after winning each of their previous six competitive games, including four matches in the third tier.

Lee Buchanan and Jay Stansfield grabbed a goal apiece in Birmingham's most recent outing against Bristol Rovers, helping their side claim a 2-0 victory to protect their unbeaten home record in League One (W7, D2).

Chris Davies's side are currently sitting above third-place Wrexham on goal difference and just two points adrift of leaders Wycombe Wanderers, knowing that a win on Monday will move them to top of the table at Christmas.

Having scored 34 goals in 18 games, Birmingham will travel to West Sussex as the league's joint third-highest scorers, and they look to showcase that firepower against a Crawley side that have conceded 32 goals in 19 matches - only four teams have let in more this season.

Blues certainly enjoyed themselves in their only previous competitive meeting with Crawley in an EFL Cup tie in August 2017 when they produced a free-scoring display to run out 5-1 winners at St Andrew's.

Crawley Town form (all competitions):

Birmingham City League One form:

Birmingham City form (all competitions):

Team News

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Crawley manager Rob Elliot is likely to be without Jay Williams, Josh Flint, Dion Conroy and Junior Quitirna.

Despite seeing his team lose out to Peterborough, Elliot could opt for consistency and name an unchanged lineup for Monday's fixture.

Tola Showunmi will be looking to continue his impressive form, having scored in each of Crawley's last three competitive matches.

As for Birmingham, they are expected to be without the services of Alex Cochrane, who has missed the last two matches with a foot injury.

Alfons Sampsted and Scott Wright are closing in on a return to action, but they are unlikely to be ready for Monday's away trip.

Stansfield will continue to offer one of Birmingham's main goal threats, having scored 10 times in 13 league appearances this season.

Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Wollacott; Barker, Mukena, Mullarkey; Darcy, Anderson, Kelly, Camara, Adeyemo; Showunmi, Swan

We say: Crawley Town 1-3 Birmingham City

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