Crewe and Rochdale are set to clash at the Mornflake Stadium this Saturday afternoon as the home side aim to push themselves further away from the relegation zone just as the Dale sit rock bottom and starin in the face on the non-league ranks.
Crewe were in action in midweek and played out a 0-0 draw with Walsall. It was a fairly lacklustre fixture, as Lee Bell's men had only three shots on target, but this still saw Crewe extend their unbeaten run to four games after losing to Leyton Orient at the start of the month. The Alex have gone on to draw 2-2 with Crawley Town, defeat Hartlepool united 2-0 and then draw once more with Harrogate Town and Walsall.
This form keeps the club in 18th and seven points above the relegation zone. In fact, they are 16 points above Rochdale before this meeting. Crewe also have games in hand on some teams around them, but with Grimsby Town in 17th just above them also having two games in hand over them, it's tough to see how Crewe get much further up the table in the forthcoming weeks.
Nevertheless, they are two clear of Colchester United just below them in the table, while also having two games in hand over the U's. Ultimately, it doesn't seem as if relegation fears are circling the Mornflake Stadium anymore, and this comes only three months on from Crewe being in the bottom four.
As for Rochdale, it feels like only a matter of time until they end up in the National League. The club are sitting on just 21 points with 33 games played. This has seen them lose a stunning 22 games already, and they are now behind Harrogate Town in 20th by nine points having also played two more games than them.
The Dale have won only five games this season and they head into this game with just one win in 2023, as they edged past Bradford City away from home in a 2-1 win. Rochdale lost 2-1 to Stockport County last time out, and couple this with a 2-0 loss to Gillingham and a 2-1 defeat to Leyton Orient and it means a three-game losing run now for Jim Bentley's side.