Crewe Alexandra kick-start 2023 with a tough clash against Tranmere Rovers and will not be in a confident mood. The Railwaymen are struggling for form at the moment and have slipped down to 17th place in the League Two table.

They were thumped 3-0 last time out against Carlisle United at home to seal off a pretty dreadful year for the Cheshire outfit and their boss Lee Bell said it was one of the ‘hardest nights’ in his managerial career so far. Defender Luke Offord was sent off in that one so will be suspended now which is a real blow, with likely replacements being inexperienced 18-year-old Zac Williams which is a worry or Connor O’Riordan, who has been recalled from his loan at Ross County.

The Alex remain without key striking duo Courtney Baker-Richardson and Chris Long, as well as midfielder Callum Ainley, and they are seriously missing the quality of the trio right now. They have lost their last four games on the spin in all competitions, scoring only once, and will be nervously looking over their shoulder towards the relegation zone with them showing no signs of turning their fortunes around anytime soon.

Tranmere appear to have turned a corner following their poor run of results before December. The Merseyside club picked up an impressive 2-1 away win at Barrow on Thursday night courtesy of goals by defender Jordan Turnbull and striker Kane Hemmings. They are now only three points off the play-offs and will fancy their chances of closing the gap on the top seven with a win over lowly Crewe.

Speaking after their last victory, manager Micky Mellon said his players played ‘very well’ and will be hoping for more of the same as they head into the new year. The Whites will be without midfielder Paul Lewis who was red carded against Barrow in the second-half but have perfectly adequate replacements in the likes of Lee O’Connor and Chris Merrie in the middle of the park.

Tranmere will fancy their chances of winning again and have lost just once in their last five outings in all competitions which suggests they are finding ways to pick up results now as they start to look up the table once again. Attacker Hemmings has scored six goals so far this term and goes into the clash at Gresty Road on the back of two in two games so not many defenders will want to be facing him next up.

Grimsby Town and Stockport County were promoted from the National League together earlier this year, but it is the latter who have adapted better to life in the Football League.

The Mariners find themselves down in 16th position and have lost more (nine) than they won (seven) so far this season. They were battered 4-1 at home by Salford City last time out with winger Otis Khan scoring their only goal and boss Paul Hurst said the result ‘sums up’ where they are as a team at the moment. They are in a rut and have won just once in their last nine league outings which is a worry.

To make matters worse, they remain without injured striker Ryan Taylor and are missing his presence in attack with the likes of John McAtee, Dan Orsi and Aribim Pepple struggling for goals. At the other end of the pitch, Grimsby’s defence has been extremely fragile and they have let in seven goals in their last two matches and need to tighten things up at the back as they prepare to face one of the in-form teams in the division. They will stay up this term but they don’t have enough quality in their ranks to pick up a result on New Year’s Day and most signs point towards an away win.

Stockport have their sights set on back-to-back promotions and are only two points off the play-offs now after their 2-0 away win at Walsall in their last game. Striker Kyle Wootton scored both goals for them and boss Dave Challinor said it was another ‘good’ performance from his side. On the selection front, the Hatters’ right wing-back Macauley Southam-Hales missed out against the Saddlers through injury but they had the perfect replacement in former Premier League defender Phil Bardsley, who made his debut for the club after his switch last month.

Goalkeeper Vit Jaros also sat out but the experienced Ben Hinchcliffe is doing well and has kept three clean sheets in the league on the spin now. Stockport are flying and have lost just once in their last 13 matches in all competitions and that was against table toppers Leyton Orient in November in a run of fixtures spanning back to mid-October. Challinor’s side are finding ways to win games and will be full of confidence as they make the long trip up to Blundell Park.

Doncaster Rovers will be under no illusion as to have tough their clash against Carlisle United will be. The Yorkshire side have been very inconsistent so far this season and find themselves down in 12th position which is poor considering their aim was to get promoted. They beat Rochdale 4-3 last time out courtesy of goals by Charlie Seaman, Ben Close, Harrison Biggins and Tom Anderson but the fact they leaked three goals against a team in the relegation zone isn’t good.

Their boss Danny Schofield said his team are ‘fighting’ for him at the moment but their defence is weak at the moment after they also conceded three goals against Tranmere Rovers in their 3-0 away loss on Boxing Day. On the selection front, winger Aidan Barlow is back and made the bench against Rochdale but faces a difficult task getting into the team ahead of Kyle Hurst and Luke Molyneux. Doncaster are not convincing by any means on home soil and have picked up just one win in their last five outings at the Eco-Power Stadium.

They haven’t pulled up any trees so far in this campaign and don’t appear to have enough quality to make a push for the play-offs, with a mediocre second-half of the season in store for them.

Carlisle have been in top form over recent times and thumped Crewe Alexandra 3-0 away in their last game thanks to goals by defender Morgan Feeney, midfielder Owen Moxon and striker Kristian Dennis.

Their manager Paul Simpson said he was ‘chuffed to bits’ with the result and will be hoping to see his side extend their impressive run of performances with another win in Yorkshire this weekend. His players are certainly playing for him at the moment and they have lost just once in their last eight games in all competitions. The Cumbrian outfit are dreaming of promotion to League One and are currently sat in 4th place in the division, just four points behind 4th position Northampton Town now.

Regarding injury news, striker Ryan Edmondson has been sidelined over recent times but isn’t missed at all with Jack Stretton, Jordan Gibson and Dennis catching the eye in attacking areas, with the latter having scored 12 goals so far this term. Carlisle have proved they are a tough nut to crack on their travels and have lost just twice in their last nine league games so they will be confident.