COLCHESTER United host Crawley Town this afternoon, at the JobServe Community Stadium.

From likely line-ups to key men and the referee, all you need to know can be found below ahead of the League Two clash (kick-off 3pm).

Team news

Colchester are set to welcome back goalkeeper Owen Goodman for today's game.

The on-loan Crystal Palace goalkeeper has missed the last four games due to an ankle injury.

Gazette:

Captain Connor Hall is unlikely to be ready in time to feature following hernia surgery but striker John Akinde is pushing for a start after coming on as a second-half substitute against West Ham United under-21s, in the EFL Trophy.

The likes of Nico Lawrence, Ellis Iandolo, Al-Amin Kazeem and Owura Edwards all remain sidelined.

Predicted line-ups

Colchester United: Goodman, Dallison, Kelleher, Mitchell, Egbo, McGeehan, Read, Chilvers, Fevrier, Taylor, Akinde

Crawley Town: Ashby-Hammond, Wright, Maguire, Williams, Gordon, Tsaroulla, Henry, Gladwin, Adeyemo, Campbell, Orsi-Dadamo

Colchester head coach Matty Etherington on Crawley game:

“It’s a difficult business but I’m enjoying it.

“It’s really tough especially on nights like Tuesday and the way the game ended on the pitch, which I didn’t necessarily like.

Gazette:

“It’s not easy and I never thought it would be but I do believe we’ve got a really good together group here and when we get a consistent injury-free side out there, we’ve got a good team for League Two level, I’m convinced of that.

“But we also need a little bit of luck along the way and that’s probably something that we haven’t been getting.

“We’ve had unfortunate injuries to some really important players but they seem like they’re on the way back, which is pleasing.

“Once they are back, I’ve got full confidence that we will be OK and we need to get through the games until then."

Head to head

Colchester will be hoping top scorer Joe Taylor can add to his nine goals for the season against Crawley Town this afternoon.

He is set to come up against former U's youngster Will Wright, who has made 23 appearances for the Reds so far, this season.

Gazette:

Last meeting

Colchester drew 0-0 with Crawley the last time the two sides met in West Sussex, in April.

The U's home clash with the Reds also finished in a draw last season, with the game ending 2-2.

Odds 

Colchester are 13/10 to end a three-match losing run and win today. The draw is 12/5, while a Crawley win is 15/8.

League Two fixtures, today (3pm unless stated): Accrington Stanley v Doncaster Rovers, AFC Wimbledon v Swindon Town, Bradford City v Salford City, Colchester United v Crawley Town, Forest Green Rovers v Wrexham, Grimsby Town v Crewe Alexandra, Mansfield Town v Milton Keynes Dons, Morecambe v Stockport County, Notts County v Walsall, Sutton United v Harrogate Town, Tranmere Rovers v Newport County.