Crewe Alexandra have had a terrible start to the 2024/25 season after losing the play-off final to Crawley Town at Wembley Stadium in May and sit in 23rd place with just one point. They travel to newly-promoted Bromley, who are playing their first-ever campaign in the Football League after beating Solihull Moors on penalties in the National League play-off final.
Bromley lost at Bradford City last weekend after being reduced to ten men due to Ashley Charles’ early dismissal and Crewe Alexandra picked up their first point against Swindon Town in a scoreless draw.
Read on for The Deck’s regular preview of a selected League Two fixture every game week, with MK Dons’ 3-0 home win over Carlisle United previewed for matchday four.
National League Stars Carry Form Into Football League
33-year-old Michael Cheek, 30-year-old Grant Smith and 34-year-old Callum Reynolds have been the standout players as Bromley have exceeded expectations by picking up six points from their opening three matches. Their defeat at Bradford City could be partly attributed to the early red card so they should be confident heading into the weekend’s fixture.
Fans should be under no illusion that staying in the fourth tier will be an achievement but they have to rely on last season’s stars after a relatively cautious approach in the transfer window. They will have to suffer at times in League Two and are outperforming their expected goals of 2.57 after scoring five times in their opening three matches.
They will not dominate the ball, averaging just 40% possession per game so far but did secure two deals on deadline day to add some Football League experience. 28-year-old Ben Thompson has been a regular in the Championship and League One throughout his career, scoring twice in 38 appearances for Stevenage last season.
Josh Thomas scored three goals in 15 matches for Port Vale in 2023/24 and made a late substitute appearance for Swansea against Middlesborough on the opening weekend of the Championship season.
Crewe Alexandra Struggle to Replicate 2023/24 Exploits
Crewe Alexandra are yet to score in League Two and have lost top scorer Elliott Nevitt to Gillingham Town, Rio Adebisi to Peterborough United and Courtney Baker-Richardson to Newport County and the effect was on show in their heavy home defeat to Chesterfield as they were four goals down inside the opening half an hour on the way to a 5-0 thrashing.
Lee Bell has a major job on his hands to lead the team to compete for a place in the play-offs this season but did pick up a morale-boosting win over Liverpool’s under-21 squad in the EFL Trophy in midweek. The manager has been at the club for the last nine years in various roles and will target the trip to Bromley as an opportunity to get three points on the board and they should get chances against a side that has conceded 14.3 shots per game.
The home side also have the fifth-highest expected goals-against tally in the division and all eyes will be on summer signing Kanne Hemmings. The 32-year-old has yet to score from an expected goals tally of 0.79 and he will likely be the focal point having played the full ninety minutes in each of the side’s opening three fixtures.
Prediction
Bromley have had an excellent start and home advantage should be enough for them to get a result against a Crewe Alexandra side that have not been effective after the departure of star players in the transfer window. It would be a major plunge if they were to drop into a relegation battle this season but should improve as the campaign progresses.
However, this game could come too soon for their recovery and Bromley should continue their excellent start and pick up another three points.