Bristol Rovers will face League Two opposition when they travel to West Sussex to face Crawley Town in the first-round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday. The hosts have begun the season with consecutive defeats, while the Gas responded to an opening day loss with a comprehensive 4-0 win at the weekend. © Reuters After being named as Crawley head coach in the summer, Kevin Betsy would have been dreaming of a couple of positive results to begin his tenure.
However, the Crawley boss has watched on as his side have fallen to consecutive 1-0 defeats, leaving the Reds as one of four League Two teams yet to collect a point this season. An away trip to Carlisle United on the opening day of the season was decided by a fifth-minute strike from Kristian Dennis , while Thomas James netted in the second half for Leyton Orient at the weekend to condemn Betsy's side to another narrow defeat. The League Two outfit will now turn their attention to Tuesday's EFL Cup tie, where not only are they aiming to record their first win of the season, but they will also be attempting to find the net for the first time this term.
They will also try to avoid another opening-round defeat in the EFL Cup after being eliminated at the first-round stage in six of the last seven editions of the competition. Bristol Rovers, meanwhile, clinched promotion from League Two on the final day of the season last term to return to League One at the first time of asking. The Gas would have been disappointed to lose 2-1 to Forest Green Rovers on the opening weekend on the season following Regan Hendry 's 89th-minute winner, but they responded in style on Saturday.
Joey Barton took his side to the Pirelli Stadium to face Burton Albion, who were reduced to 10 men within the opening minute after Conor Shaughnessy was given his marching orders. Three minutes later, Anthony Evans opened the scoring before James Connolly doubled Bristol Rovers' advantage in the 12th minute, while Aaron Collins netted a brace to wrap up a 4-0 win before half time. Following the comfortable victory, the Gas will look to avoid a third consecutive first-round exit in the EFL Cup when they make the trip to Crawley on Tuesday.
After joining on a season-long loan deal, Mazeed Ogungbo made his Crawley debut with a substitute appearance at the weekend, and the Arsenal loanee could be given his first start for the club on Tuesday. Ogungbo could replace Tobi Omole to line up in a back three alongside Dion Conroy and George Francomb . With Crawley searching for their first goal of the season, Betsy could be tempted to bring Kwesi Appiah into the starting lineup.
As for Bristol Rovers, they will be without the services of Josh Grant and summer signing Jordan Rossiter , who are unavailable with injury issues. Despite starting the opening league game against Port Vale, Trevor Clarke and Zain Westbrooke have been told they can leave the club in the current transfer window. With games coming thick and fast, Barton could be tempted to make a number of changes for the EFL Cup tie, which could see Glenn Whelan , Harvey Saunders and Alfie Kilgour come into the starting lineup.
Crawley Town possible starting lineup: Addai; Francomb, Conroy, Ogungbo; Johnson, Jenks Hessenthaler, Balagizi, Tilley; Telford, Appiah Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup: Ward; Gibbons, Kilgour, Connolly, Gordon; Anderson, Finley, Whelan, Collins; Marquis, Saunders Bristol Rovers won both of their league meetings with Crawley last season, and we think they have enough quality to record another victory against the Reds on Tuesday. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here . .
