PREVIEW | Swindon Town v Crawley Town

SWINDON TOWN will look to continue their climb towards the League Two play-off places as they welcome Crawley Town to the County Ground this afternoon. Total Sport Swindon’s Ryan Walker previews the game ahead of kick-off.

An impressive 1-2 away victory over Tranmere Rovers in their last outing saw Swindon Town rise to 11th place in the league standings with the Robins now just six points outside the playoff positions.

In contrast, Crawley have lost their last three fixtures suffering a 0-1 home loss to Port Vale last weekend that sees today's visitors languishing just six points above the dreaded relegation zone. 

A face-to-face record spanning over 13 matches since 2010 has seen Crawley become a bogey team for Swindon with Town having failed to get the better over their Sussex based rivals in the last eight encounters, whilst Crawley beat the Robins three times over the same period. 

A positive post-Christmas run of games has seen manager Richie Wellens guide Swindon to just one loss since the turn of the year with Swindon acquiring 7 points from a possible 12 with the playoffs now seeming like a real possibility this season.

In addition to a positive run of recent results, Wellens’ ability to bring in six players during the January transfer window has only helped boost the clubs playoffs credentials. 

Danny Rose looks set to make his home debut today since making the switch from Portsmouth whilst Swindon fans will be hoping to get a first look at defenders Tom Broadbent and Taylor Curran. 

Despite their struggles in recent games, Crawley still pose a big goal threat in the shape of striker Ollie Palmer who has found the back of the net ten times for the Reds this season. Whilst for Swindon, Marc Richards has the opportunity to score in back-to-back games for the first time this season. 

With both sides needing points for opposite reasons, today’s match has all the makings to be a classic at the County Ground but Swindon should have enough to earn their first home win of the calendar year.

Prediction: 3-1