League 2 
The stage is set for a mid-table skirmish at the EnviroVent Stadium this Saturday, as Harrogate Town welcome Crawley Town in a League Two encounter. Both sides find themselves comfortably clear of relegation and harboring outside hopes of pushing for the playoffs.
Harrogate currently occupy 13th place in the League Two table, displaying a mix of promising performances and frustrating inconsistencies. The hosts are without a win in their last five league outings having lost three and drawn two of their last five games.
In recent weeks, Harrogate have been conceding too many goals, conceding 16 in their last five outings. On the 13th of February, Harrogate suffered a humiliating 9-2 defeat against Mansfield.
Their most recent outing saw them share the spoils in a 1-1 draw against Swindon Town. O'Connor put Harrogate ahead in the 52nd minute with a header, but Swindon's Austin equalized in the 85th minute, also with a header. Both sides had chances to win, but ultimately settled for a point.
Crawley Town find themselves just two places above their upcoming opponents in 11th, with a renewed sense of optimism under manager John Yems. Their last game saw them grind out a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Accrington Stanley, marking their third win in five games.
Crawley Town picked up another crucial three points in their fight for the playoffs with a slim 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley thanks to a headed goal from Harry Ransom. This is the Reds third consecutive clean sheet and second win in a row as they leapfrog their fellow league two competitors.
While the two sides haven't met frequently, their recent encounters have been closely contested. In their last five meetings, each team has claimed two victories, with one match ending in a draw. Notably, the most recent clash, back in November 2023, saw Crawley secure a 2-1 victory at the Broadfield Stadium.
Tom Nichols opened the scoring for the Red Devils in the first half, before Jack Muldoon equalized for Harrogate deep into stoppage time. However, Ashley Nadesan had the final say, securing the victory for Crawley with a goal in the second half.
These sides cannot be separated at the bookies ahead of this weekend’s clash as both sides are currently priced 6/4, whilst a draw is currently @ 5/2.
We are backing Crawley to win and Over 2.5 Goals in the match because they come into the match on the back of much better form. Harrogate’s defense has been of particular weakness in recent weeks and we expect Crawley to exploit this in a high scoring game.
* all odds are accurate at the time of writing