Crewe Alexandra v Harrogate Town 

Crewe Alexandra take on Harrogate Town in their first home game of the season and looked strong last time out. 

The Alex began life back in League Two with an impressive 2-1 win away at North West rivals Rochdale last time out thanks to goals from Dan Agyei and Lachlan Brook. The Railwaymen have made eight new signings this summer and they all seem to have gelled together nicely. Speaking after their win at Spotland, their boss, Alex Morris, said his side were ‘excellent’, especially in the first-half and he will be looking for his side to come firing out of the blocks again against Harrogate this weekend. Crewe have players who can hurt their opponents like Callum Ainley, Tariq Uwakwe as well last week’s goal scorers Agyei and Brook. They also have experience with the likes of Conor Thomas and Rod McDonald in their team. Luke Offord, 22, has stayed put in the transfer window despite speculation of a departure and his side is a lot stronger defensively with him in it. In terms of injury news, goalkeeper Dave Richards is out and requires surgery on his finger. Nevertheless, new loan recruit from Arsenal, Arthur Okonkwo, will take his place again and impressed on his debut. Rio Adebisi is also out of action but teenage left-back Zac Williams proved to be an adequate replacement and is already a Wales youth international. 

Harrogate made a dream start to the new season with a 3-0 home win over a sluggish Swindon Town side after goals from Alex Pattison, Matty Daly and Jack Muldoon. Their manager, Simon Weaver, said he was ‘overjoyed’ with the result but his side are in a for a tough match this weekend in Cheshire. The Sulphurites have brought in 10 new faces in this transfer window which gives Weaver a few selection headaches. Defensive pair Will Smith and Rory McArdle remain out of action, whilst there have been worries about new signing Max Wright. The former Grimsby Town man picked up an ankle injury over pre-season and missed the opening day clash, with Shaun Dooley the most likely candidate to play in his position again. Despite comfortably winning against Swindon, the Yorkshire club only had 40% possession which suggests that they like to sit behind the ball and catch teams out. Letting a team like Crewe with the quality they have in midfield with Ainley and Thomas especially could be trouble.

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Newport County v Walsall

Newport County welcome former boss Michael Flynn and his Walsall side to Rodney Parade this weekend. 

The Exiles picked up a decent point away at Sutton United in their opening game of the season after a 1-1 draw, with striker Omar Bogle scoring his debut. Their boss, James Rowberry, said if you ‘draw your away games and win your homes ones then you’re going to do alright’ so his side will be looking to stick by his plan and beat Walsall on home soil. Newport have made seven signings so far this summer to strengthen their ranks and also have former Premier League attacker Wilfried Bony training with them again. The South Wales will want their host of forwards option like Bogle, Offrande Zanzala, Will Evans, Lewis Collins and Chanka Zimba to learn from the ex-Swansea City ace. They have plenty of competition and depth in that department so you have to fancy them to score on Saturday. On the injury front, defender James Clarke is out of action with a hip injury but the defensive back three of Declan Drysdale, Matt Dolan and Micky Demetriou did a good job against Sutton. Centre-back Priestley Farquharson is also injured and is aiming for a return on 9^th August against Luton Town, but he isn’t a regular starter anyway. 

Walsall blew Hartlepool United away last time out after winning 4-0 with a hat-trick from summer signing Danny Johnson and the other goal from another debutant Brandon Comley. The Saddlers were in red-hot form and make the trip to Newport in confident mood and will cause them problems. Flynn said his side were ‘really good’ and praised the ‘clinical’ Johnson. The attacker has joined the Midlands club on loan from fellow League Two side Mansfield Town and will be eager to prove his parent club wrong for sending him away. He scored 17 league goals for former club Leyton Orient in the 2020/21 campaign so has proven in the past he can score goals at this level. He will now aim to add to his tally for this this weekend. The Saddlers are without injured quartet Liam Gordon, Joss Labadie, Conor Wilkinson and Oisin McEntee but they have depth in their squad to deal with injury problems. New additions Owen Evans, Peter Clarke, Isaac Hutchinson, Andy Williams and Johnson all started against Hartlepool and look to be shrewd acquisitions. 

Stevenage v Stockport County

Stevenage welcome newly promoted Stockport County to Broadhall Way this weekend. 

The Hertfordshire club have struggled in League Two over recent years and have almost slipped into non-league a couple of times. However, they are now hoping their fortunes have changed under Steve Evans and started the 2022/23 season with a bang last time out with an impressive 2-1 win over Tranmere Rovers with goals from Jake Reeves and Jordan Roberts. Evans said his side were not getting carried away with the result though and that there was no ‘singing or dancing on the coach’ afterwards. He also admitted there was a bit of ‘nervousness’ from his team in the second-half which is something that their next opponents Stockport will be eager to exploit. New signing Dean Campbell, who has joined on loan from Rangers, has been nursing a slight injury but made the bench against Tranmere Rovers. He will be pushing for a start against Stockport but may find it tough to get in ahead of Reeves, Michael Bostwick and Jake Taylor. Evans has said he wants to add some more players into his squad which suggests he isn’t 100% satisfied with his current options. 

Stockport were beaten 3-2 at home by Barrow in the shock result of the division last weekend. The Hatters are being tipped for back-to-back promotions after spending big over the summer. They fell 3-0 behind at half-time but should impressive character to fight back to 3-2 before being awarded a penalty in added-time which the referee then decided to reverse. They will be eager to bounce back from their loss to the Bluebirds with a positive result against Stevenage and the North West outfit will be backed by a bumper-away end. Their boss, Dave Challinor, admitted the result gives his side ‘motivation’ to get their first win now and was satisfied with their response after the interval. The Hatters’ team is littered with quality with the likes of Antoni Sarcevic, Paddy Madden and new signing Kyle Wootton, who fired 26 goals in all competitions for Notts County last season. They also don’t have any injury concerns yet which is a boost and they have a full set of players to pick from for their trip down south on Saturday. 

Hartlepool United v AFC Wimbledon 

Hartlepool United welcome AFC Wimbledon to the Suits Direct Stadium this weekend in Paul Hartley’s first home game in charge. 

It was a disastrous opening day for the Pools and they will be short on confidence after their 4-0 away hammering at Walsall. Speaking after the match, he said his side were ‘very poor’ and ‘miles off it’ in terms of their performance. The North East club were dealt a huge blow over the summer following the departure of key winger Luke Molyneux, who scored 12 goals in all competitions last season, to fellow League Two club Doncaster Rovers and defender Timo Odusina to Bradford City. They have brought in 13 new faces to replace them, the majority of which have dropped down from Scotland, but based on their last performance they are either not good enough for this level or haven’t gelled together yet. To make matters worse, Hartley only named six players on the bench. New striker signing Mika Ndjoli is out for up to two weeks with a hamstring injury so Josh Umerah is poised to lead the line again. Winger Joe Grey, who penned a new deal over the summer, is also injured and will be assessed ahead of Saturday. If he can’t play, Jake Hastie and Ellis Taylor are the most likely to step in. 

Wimbledon are back in the fourth tier after suffering relegation last term from League One and will be eyeing an immediate promotion. Their new boss, Johnnie Jackson, started life with the Dons with a 2-0 win over Gillingham thanks to goals from Ethan Chislett and Jack Currie. His side will be in confident mood as they make the trip up north this weekend and Jackson said his side were ‘excellent’ against the Gills so will be looking for more of the same. He has been smart with his recruitment this summer with experienced pair Alex Pearce and Chris Gunter coming through the door on free transfer after their respective exits from Millwall and Charlton Athletic. Their know-how mixed in with the quality of Chislett and Ayoub Assal, the latter of who fired 10 goals last season, makes Wimbledon look a really strong side on paper. In terms of selection news, Luke McCormick was left out last time out as he looks to force a move away. Nevertheless, Jackson has bags of options to choose from in his position with George Marsh, Alfie Bendle and Paris Maghoma. New forward Kyle Hudlin, who stands at 6ft 9inc, came off the bench against Neil Harris’ side which shows the depth they have in their squad. Hartlepool’s defence leaked four goals against Walsall and you have to worry for them against the Dons now. 

Doncaster Rovers v Sutton United

Doncaster Rovers are back in League Two and will be eyeing an immediate return to League One this season. 

The Yorkshire club began life back in the fourth tier with a 0-0 draw away at rivals Bradford City last time out. Their boss, Gary McSheffrey, said he was ‘proud’ of his players after they held strong with 10 men after Lee Tomlin’s red card. Bradford threw a lot at Donny’s defence but they kept a clean sheet which proves their resilience at the back. It has been a busy summer for the club on the transfer front and they have added some serious quality into their ranks. Despite missing the opening day, winger Luke Molynuex, who scored 12 goals last term, has joined from Hartlepool United whilst the likes of Kyle Hurst, George Miller and Josh Andrews have arrived as well to give them more options in attack. In terms of selection news, new boy Tomlin is out suspended whilst Molyneux is still unavailable with a knee problem but Birmingham City loanee Andrews and Jack Degruchy are the most likely to start in their positions and aren’t bad options to have as back-up. Midfielder Ben Close is still injured from the end of last term but youngster Liam Ravenhill will be eager to grasp his chance again in the middle of the park. Doncaster will be motivated to get their first win and after last week’s dogged showing at Valley P  arade, you’d fancy them to get a draw as a minimum. 

Sutton have a shoestring budget and it is safe to say they don’t have the same financial powers as the majority of clubs at fourth-tier level. Nevertheless, they punched way above their weight last season and only just missed out on the play-offs. It was a tough summer for the London outfit though as they lost number one goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis to Reading and David Ajiboye to Peterborough United, whilst Isaac Olaofe went back to Millwall after his loan ended. They were held 1-1 at home to Newport County last weekend, with Omar Bugiel scoring their goal. Their manager, Matt Gray, was satisfied with the result and said his side ‘take the point and move on’. They were forced into two substitutions before half-time against Newport with key pair Ben Goodliffe and Will Randall taken off which was not ideal. They will both be assessed ahead of the trip on Saturday, with Colby Rowe and Josh Neufville, who came on for them last week, ready to step in again if needed. Sutton picked up a decent result last time out but with a significantly weaker squad than the last campaign, they will be up against it in Doncaster. 

Mansfield Town v Tranmere Rovers

Mansfield Town left a lot to be desired with their 2-0 opening day defeat at Salford City. An impractical 3-5-2 formation deployed by Nigel Clough kept star creator Stephen McLaughlin restricted to a centre-back role, whilst Jordan Bowery and Lucas Akins, both natural wingers, felt unsuited to wing-back roles that provided the main bulk of the width in all phases. The absence of centre-back/centre-forward Oli Hawkins, suspended after his Wembley red card against Port Vale, wouldn’t have helped either. He is back available from this weekend, however.

Tranmere’s opening day defeat against Stevenage was by a 2-1 margin, though many there will have been thankful that Stevenage did not score more than they did. The absence of a pair of reliable centre-backs in Tom Davies and Jordan Turnbull forced Tranmere into deployed an uncomfortable back five which had Luke Robinson, Kyle Jameson and Neill Byrne sandwiched between Ethan Bristow and Josh Dacres-Cogley. It proved a very unsuccessful decision with key areas being made both in and out of possession, and the thought of having to use that backline against Mansfield will not bring much confidence to the Super White Army. The front pair of Kane Hemmings and Elliott Nevitt can excite, but it needs a much more solid base behind it so that the goals they score can end up mattering at full-time.

Mansfield Town’s phenomenal record at Field Mill was what helped fire the Stags towards a promotion push last season, and the hope will be that they can continue that fine form on home soil into 2022-23. With the Stags possibly facing a weakened Tranmere Rovers backline, much like Stevenage did seven days earlier, Nigel Clough may sense an opportunity to put the team’s disappointment of Salford behind them and get three points on the board.

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