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League One side Crawley Town takes on League Two relegation battlers Bristol Rovers in this FA Cup second round replay. The tie is going on for some time, with the competition having already reached the 4th round! Rovers managed to earn a nice 0-0 result at home against their more seasoned opponents, but the away game will surely be much more challenging for them. This match was scheduled to be played some time ago, but it was interrupted in the second half due to a flooded pitch – the score was 0-0. Then another attempt to play the game was voided before the kickoff. Finally, the replay will be kickstarted again today from the 1st minute.
Crawley Town is currently sitting comfortably mid-table in League One, with no relegation worries but nu playoff aspirations either. This makes the FA Cup a priority for them, and they will approach this game at full focus. After a bad run of form, Crawley slowly got back into shape and at the moment the team has 2 wins in the last 3 matches, including an impressive road success against strong Leyton Orient 2 rounds ago. The hosts have been strong at home this season with 5 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses.
Bristol Rovers is currently playing a level below Crawley, in the League Two, and with their current form they might find themselves two levels below next season. Bristol is on the 22nd place with just 23 points in 23 games and the team is on the back of a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Rochdale. Rovers have put up some horrible performances away from home this season, winning just once, drawing 4 and losing 8. With their current league situation, Bristol Rovers are more focused on getting out of the relegation zone than making noise in the FA Cup.
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Team news: Billie Clarke, Dannie Bulman and new signing Mat Tubbs are all unavailable for the hosts. Bristol Rovers only has Ryan Brunt absent for this game. Both sides will field the best players at their disposal, avoiding resting anyone.
As previously said, aside from the 0-0 result that Rovers got at home, they also held Crawley goaless until the second half when the initial replay was held. However, the flooded pitch prevented Crawley to play their game. Apparently today the conditions will be better, so it`s a whole new ball-game.
I expect Crawley to cruise to the 3rd round of the FA Cup and I like the odds for the home win here. They are by far the better team, the quality gap is sensible, and home court advantage should do a massive difference considering how poor Rovers are on the road. Another strong argument is that Crawley is 100% focused on this competition, while their opponents are more concerned with avoiding relegation and the FA Cup is not really at the top of their list of priorities. Expect Crawley to finally finish off Rovers today. I expect the hosts to cover the handicap, but I will go with the simple win here because I don`t completely trust Crawley`s weak offense. 0.75 handicap could also be a good idea, but the odds are not high enough compared to the “1” sign for me to take it. My pick for this one is something like Crawley Town – Bristol Rovers 2-0. Really can`t see any other result than Crawley to win, so I will go with high stakes here. Surely this is the bet of the day for myself.
Pick: Crawley Town to win
Odds: 1.62 @ Ladbrokes
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 5.58
Event date: 8 January
Editor Facts
- Rostick`s last 13 tips saw 10 won, 1 void and 2 lost
