The hosts are aiming to collect back-to-back victories, while the Reds enter the contest in impressive form after winning three of their last four matches.

Match preview

Crawley Town manager John Yems and Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa during the FA Cup clash on January 10, 2021 © Reuters

Newport find themselves involved in an almighty tussle to seal a place in the League Two playoffs, and their push for the top seven received a timely boost last weekend courtesy of a 1-0 away win over Swindon Town.

The encounter with the Robins seemed to be drifting towards a goalless draw, however, a 90th-minute own goal from Dion Conroy saw the Exiles snatch all three points in dramatic fashion.

Not only did that result end a run of three games without a win for Newport, but it also lifted James Rowberry's side into the playoff places.

Although they now sit in seventh position, Newport must continue to pick up victories with the likes of Salford City, Tranmere Rovers and Sutton United hot on their heels.

The Exiles will know they face a tough test on Saturday against a Crawley side that are enjoying a promising run of form, but with the hosts boasting the best goalscoring record at home in League Two this season, they will be confident that they have the firepower to overcome the Reds.

Crawley, meanwhile, sit in 12th place ahead of Friday's encounter, with the Reds hoping to maintain that position as they bid to finish in the top half of the table.

Friday's visitors have turned a corner in recent weeks after a 3-1 win over Swindon on March 19 ended a five-game winless run.

Since that victory, John Yems has overseen two further victories and one defeat with the most recent win occurring last weekend, when Crawley played host to Barrow.

The contest required just one goal to decide the result, with Kwesi Appiah scoring what proved to be the winner in the 57th minute.

Despite experiencing an upturn in fortunes, Crawley will be concerned that their last three away games have all ended in defeat.

After conceding eight goals across that triple-header, Yems will be looking for a strong defensive performance from his side on Friday.

Newport County League Two form:

Crawley Town League Two form:

Team News

Robbie Willmott was forced off for Newport last weekend after picking up an injury and the 31-year-old is a doubt for Friday's contest.

Jake Cain, meanwhile, could come into the starting lineup, while Josh Pask may return to the squad following an injury layoff.

Newport could also bring Dom Telford into the starting XI, with the striker set to partner Rob Street upfront.

Joel Lynch returned from injury to feature as a second-half substitute last weekend, and he could come into the side on Friday to start alongside Ludwig Francillette and George Francomb in the back three.

If Lynch does return to the starting lineup then Jake Hessenthaler is likely to move from the backline into the centre of midfield.

Appiah scored his 11th league goal of the season last time out, and he is expected to lead the line for the visitors against Newport.

Newport County possible starting lineup:
Day; Norman, Clarke, Demetriou, Lewis; Azaz, Bennett, Cain, Waite; Street, Telford

Crawley Town possible starting lineup:
Morris; Francomb, Francillette, Lynch; Tilley, Hessenthaler, Payne, Ferry; Appiah, Nichols, Nadesan

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We say: Newport County 2-1 Crawley Town

Crawley may have won three of their last four matches, but all of those wins took place on home turf and with Newport determined to keep hold of their playoff spot, we think that the hosts will edge out the Reds on Friday.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Newport County win with a probability of 54.76%. A draw had a probability of 23.1% and a win for Crawley Town had a probability of 22.13%.

The most likely scoreline for a Newport County win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.32%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.84%) and 2-0 (9.3%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.92%), while for a Crawley Town win it was 0-1 (6.07%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 5.8% likelihood.