Colchester vs Crawley Town Predictions

• Colchester are undefeated in their last nine matches.
• Colchester have scored two goals or more in each of their last four matches.
• Crawley Town have conceded at least one goal in 92% of their away matches.
• Crawley Town have also scored in 92% of their away matches.
• Crawley Town have failed to win in their last nine away matches.

The form team

The festive period has proven to be extremely kind for Colchester United, as they have maximised their performances and earned an extremely good return from the hectic schedule. The hosts come into this match undefeated in their last nine league matches and the 18 points earned during their last eight league contests is bettered only by current League Two leaders, Swindon Town.

The U’s are normally known for their defensive strength but, over the course of this run, they have proven they are much more than a side who just keep the opposition at bay, netting on a pretty regular basis.

The hosts have managed to find the back of the net at least two times in each of their last four home league games and know if they are able to earn three points on New Year’s Day, they could find themselves in the top three come 5pm.

Away-day blues

The latest team to visit the Colchester Community Stadium and hope for three points are a Crawley Town side who have far from had things their own way of late. The visitors have registered just one win in their last eight outings and, although that was a pretty convincing 4-0 demolition of Northampton Town, few will believe they have what it takes to improve that record on New Year’s Day.

That belief is largely down to their form on the road: Crawley have failed to win any of their last nine away matches. While they have found the back of the net in all but one of their games away from home, the fact they have conceded in 92% of their away matches shows what they need to work on if that record is to improve.

No stopping the hosts

The simple truth of this fixture is it represents a side who are free scoring, strong defensively and at the peak of their powers. They face a team who struggle on the road and concede regularly.

It is therefore hard to imagine Colchester will not be three points better off following this encounter’s conclusion. As long as the U’s overcome any complacency, that is exactly what we expect from this fixture. In terms of a correct score tip, although we fully expect the hosts to come out on top, we have to respect the fact Crawley have found the back of the net in 92% of their away matches.

The visitors, however, concede an average of 1.67 goals per game on the road and the hosts score an average of 1.55 goals. Considering Colchester have scored two or more in each of their last four home league matches, backing a 2-1 home win seems the most likely result.