Crewe v Grimsby Betting Tips: Dull affair expected at Gresty Road

This League Two match sees two teams with rather average records in front of goal come head-to-head as Crewe Alexandra host Grimsby Town at Gresty Road.

Crewe are currently having a bit of a nightmare and are stuck down in 21st place, just four points above the drop-zone following a run of no wins in their last 11 league matches, unsurprisingly putting them bottom of the League Two form table.

As mentioned earlier, Crewe are not great in front of goal, in fact, that’s a bit of an understatement. They are pretty dire when it comes to putting the ball in the net having scored just 26 goals – the worst record in the entire division. Their defence, which has let in 43 goals, is not too terrible in comparison with other teams and it is worth noting that Crewe have kept seven clean sheets this season – almost a quarter of all their League Two matches – not bad for a relegation candidate.

David Artell’s men, as you would expect from a club in their position, have been pretty poor at home with just 15 points taken from 14 games and no wins in their last five. It is certainly the aforementioned attack that has been letting them down at the Alexandra Stadium having scored a measly 14 goals. The defence on the other hand has been okay with just 16 goals conceded at home so far this campaign.

Grimsby are still only five points off the play-off places despite going on a rather inconsistent run recently which reads W, L, W, L, D in their last five.

The loss of striker Omar Bogle to Championship side Wigan Athletic in the January transfer window could be the biggest blow to Grimsby’s quest for successive promotions. The Mariners heavily relied on Bogle with 19 of their 36 goals so far this campaign, scored by the former Solihull Moors man. Defensively, Marcos Bignot’s side are one of the best teams in the division with their record of just 34 conceded in 29 games even bettering than top-of-the-table Doncaster Rovers whilst they have also kept 11 clean sheets – the second best record in the league.

Strangely, the Mariners are better on the road than they are at home. They’ve accumulated 21 points on their travels but have earned just 19 at Blundell Park so far this campaign.

With neither of these sides particularly good going forward, a flurry of goals doesn’t exactly look likely here. Grimsby are the favourites for this match but I fear for them a bit having lost Bogle and am not sure they will score against a fairly sound Crewe back-line. With this in mind, a result-neutral bet of ‘Under 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score – No’ , at 6/5, is the way to play it.

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