Notts County travel to Crewe Alexandra this evelooking to retain their place at the top of the sky Bet League Two table.

The Magpies replaced Exeter at the summit following a 2-1 win over Barnet at the weekend and now make the trip to Cheshire looking to give themselves some breathing room.

Crewe have lost seven of their last eight games to slip to 19th in the table, though manager David Artell has been without a number of key players due to injury in recent weeks.

The Railwaymen have picked up 11 of their 14 points on home turf and could move to the fringes of the top half with a victory.

But Kevin Nolan's men have responded well to their derby-day defeat at Mansfield, taking four points from the following two games, and the manager will be keen to further extend that unbeaten run to keep his team out in front in the fourth tier.

Notts manager Kevin Nolan says...

"We'll be going there to try and shut them out because they have some good individuals. They play really well and want to do things the right way.

"If we go there and let them play, they will hurt us. We have to be up to the fight but I'm sure they will be too."

Click here for more from the manager.

Crewe boss David Artell says...

"We know Notts County are a good side and they're in a good mindset because they're winning games.

"We have to embrace the challenge and use it to show good we can be. It's the perfect opportunity to do that."

Team news

Goalkeeper Adam Collin will miss out after injuring his knee during Saturday's 2-1 win over Barnet. 

Defender Dan Jones will also be absent for the trip as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Crewe are set to be without George Ray, James Jones and Ryan Wintle.

Dangerman

Chris Porter hit the ground running following his summer move from Colchester United, scoring six goals in his first seven games for the Railwaymen.

The 33-year-old striker scored 16 times for the Us last season, including a stunning consolation in Notts' 3-1 win over the Essex side at Meadow Lane in March, but is now without a goal in his past eight outings.

We've met before...

Notts are unbeaten in their past six visits to the Railwaymen, winning five of them.

Both meetings last season ended in draws with Notts coming away from Cheshire with a 2-2 draw in April thanks to goals from Adam Campbell and Michael O'Connor.

What are the odds?

Sky Bet have priced Notts up as 23/20 favourites for victory, while Crewe are 23/10 to get back to winning ways after their 2-0 defeat at Yeovil on Saturday. The draw is available at 12/5.

Notts' last win at Crewe was a 3-0 success in September 2014 and Sky Bet go 18/1 for the same scoreline this time around. A more conservative 2-1 win for the Magpies is 15/2.

Fancy Notts to win and keep a sixth clean sheet? It's 11/4 for Nolan's men to win to-nil or 3/1 for both teams scoring with the three points coming back to Nottingham.

Matt Tootle could be in line to face his former club on what would be his 50th Notts appearance. Could he celebrate the milestone with a goal and the popular slug celebration? The defender is 33/1 to open the scoring or 11/1 to score at any time.

Jonathan Forte was the first name on the scoresheet when the sides met at Meadow Lane last season and is 5/1 to do the same again at the Alexandra Stadium. The striker can be backed at 9/1 to score a brace or 66/1 for a hat-trick.

You can bet on the game here.

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