Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the FA Cup match.
Derby County
The Rams are supposed to reach at least play-offs this season. In the league, they currently have 27 points after 16 rounds. They are behind the top 6 only because of extra tie-breakers. Derby County are among the top 5 teams if we talk about the xGA (expected goals against) statistics (xga = 0,72), no penalty kicks and free kicks counted. The Rams are third in the number of clean sheets (43,8% of the games played).
Crewe Alexandra
The side lacks players in the attacking line. The best playmakers of Crewe Alexandra - Jack Powell (1+4) and Joel Tabiner (1+4) - miss this game because of injuries. Besides,one of the best scorers Chris Long (7+1) is still injured, too. History is not on the Crewe's side either. The last time that the Railwaymen managed to advance to the second round of the FA Cup was over 20 years ago, in season 2000/01.
Derby County - Crewe Alexandra prediction
Derby County deserve to be favourites. They have a stronger and balanced squad. They have conceded 5 goals and scored 13 times in their 8 home games in League One. Only Peterborough United have better results (18:7). However, we're unlikely to see many goals scored in this game as Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (3+4) and Conor Washington (3+2) will miss the game.
Despite expectations, the problems that both teams have in their attacking lines, will not let them show bright football.
