Burton Albion will want to continue their march towards the play-offs when they face Crewe on Friday.
Brewers looking to pile more misery on Alex
Burton Albion will want to continue their march towards the play-offs when they face Crewe on Friday.
The Brewers have taken four wins from their last five fixtures to move within three points of the top seven.
Alex, meanwhile, have claimed only one victory from their last eight outings and have slumped into the bottom half of the table as a result.
Burton news
Defenders Paul Boertien and Richard Jackson could come back into the reckoning for Burton.
Boertien has missed the last four matches with a dead leg while a calf complaint has sidelined Jackson since mid-January.
Both players are not yet fully fit and are likely to undergo late fitness tests ahead of the game.
Club captain Darren Stride is still waiting to see a specialist about the groin injury which has kept him on the sidelines so far this year.
Midfielder Michael Simpson is still struggling with a stress fracture in his foot and is at least three weeks away from a return.
A five-game unbeaten run has moved Albion within touching distance of the play-off places but boss Paul Peschisolido is doing his best to calm expectations.
"I think it's premature to be talking about that," said the Canadian. "I've talked about our objective being to stay in the Football League and I think we're on track for that."
Crewe news
Crewe will make late decisions on the fitness of Clayton Donaldson and Steven Schumacher ahead of the trip to the Pirelli Stadium.
Donaldson is the greater cause for concern with the striker nursing an ankle injury while midfielder Schumacher, who has a back problem, is expected to be fit to captain the side again in the absence of defender Mat Mitchel-King (ankle).
Should Donaldson miss out, it will leave caretaker boss Dario Gradi short of attacking options as leading scorer Calvin Zola is sidelined after suffering a hamstring strain in last weekend's defeat at Rochdale.
Matt Tootle will be rested, so a defensive reshuffle will see either Carl Martin or Ashley Westwood fill in at left-back.
Midfielder James Bailey could be included in the squad for the first time since mid-November after recovering from a stomach muscle problem.
