Take a look at everything you need to know ahead of kick-off at The People's Pension Stadium this weekend.
Crawley Town v Barrow
Saturday 12th December 2020, 3pm
The People’s Pension Stadium
Sky Bet League Two
In Opposition
It’s been a bit of a mixed bag for Crawley Town so far this season, with the unpredictable nature of their results perhaps summed up best by their astonishing 6-5 FA Cup win at Torquay United last month.
The Red Devils have been irresistible on their day and have already thumped both Morecambe and Tranmere Rovers 4-0 on home soil so far this season.
However, John Yems’ men are currently in the midst of a run of six League Two games without a victory, stretching back to the end of October when they overcame Cambridge United 2-1.
They have been rewarded for defeating Barrow’s FA Cup conquerors AFC Wimbledon with a televised home tie against Leeds United at the start of 2021.
And the Sussex outfit will hope that they are on a better run of form in the league by the time they welcome Marco Bielsa’s men to The People’s Pensions Stadium in January.
One To Watch
Max Watters is reportedly already attracting Premier League attention after firing 12 goals since moving to Crawley Town following his release from Doncaster Rovers in the summer.
The 21-year-old is currently the leading scorer in English football after hitting the ground running in Sussex and further enhanced his growing reputation by scoring twice in the 3-3 draw at Mansfield Town.
Watters made a name for himself in non-league with the likes of Thurrock, Barking and Ashford United before turning professional with Doncaster in 2018.
He was snapped up by Town in October and he’s since found the net in all but four of his 14 outings for the club, leading to speculation of big money bids arriving in the January transfer window.
Head To Head
Saturday’s game will be the seventh competitive encounter between the two sides and there’s a real symmetry about the current head to head record with both sides having won twice and the other two games ending in draws.
It’s the first time Barrow have met Crawley Town since 2010/11 when The Reds enjoyed a 3-2 win on home turf after drawing 1-1 at Holker Street earlier in the campaign.
The Bluebirds have previous success in Sussex having triumphed 1-0 in the National League in October 2009 thanks to Jason Walker’s penalty fifteen minutes from time.
Referee
Neil Hair will take charge of his fifth Barrow game this weekend but his first since 2017 when he is on the whistle for our trip to Crawley Town.
The official was promoted on to the EFL’s list of referees for 2018/19 and last oversaw a Barrow fixture when we drew 1-1 at Dover at the start of the 2017/18 campaign.
Saturday’s game will be his 14th appointment of the current season with his last outing coming at Gillingham last weekend as they ran out 2-0 winners over Swindon Town in League One.
Betting
Crawley Town have been installed as 11/8 favourites for three points this weekend, while Barrow are rated a 9/5 shot for victory and a draw is priced at odds of 23/10 with our friends at Sky Bet.
Click here now to take a look at Sky Bet’s range of odds on Saturday’s action.
Live Streaming
Match Passes to watch Saturday’s game live on iFollow Barrow are now available – fans are reminded that Season Ticket holders do not get free access to away games.
Fans in the UK can buy a Match Pass to watch the action now priced at £10, while overseas supporters pay £7.
Click here now to buy your Match Pass for this weekend’s game.
Live Commentary
We will also provide an audio commentary of this weekend’s game when we link up with BBC Radio Cumbria with Adam Johnson and Mark Boyd who will describe all the action as it unfolds.
You can purchase an Audio Match Pass for £2.50, an Audio Monthly Pass for £4.49 or sign-up for Audio Season Pass which provides all live commentary and video news for just £45.