Crewe Alexandra vs Rochdale prediction, odds and how to watch

Barnsley scored three goals in a nine-minute first-half burst to establish control of this Carabao Cup tie, but the underlying statistics tell a more complicated story about what actually happened at Oakwell on Tuesday evening.

Crewe Alexandra edged out Accrington Stanley 2-1 in the Carabao Cup, winning the physical battle from start to finish and holding their nerve after Stanley pulled one back late on.

Bradford City saw off Rochdale 2-0 in the Carabao Cup first round, but a conversion rate that should embarrass a Sunday league side means the margin of victory flatters no one. The result is the result. The performance is a different conversation.

Chesterfield secured a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Crewe Alexandra, a result that reflected the structural gap between two sides at very different ends of the League Two table. The Spireites were organised, purposeful, and ultimately too solid for a Crewe side that ended the season without answers.

Crewe Alexandra and Cambridge United played out a goalless draw at Gresty Road on the final day of the League Two season, a result that settled nothing and changed little, with both sides finishing their 46-game campaigns in the lower half of the table.

MK Dons arrived at Gresty Road as the division's second-placed side with the best defensive record in the league, and the underlying numbers explain exactly why this fixture matters so much for the shape of the League Two title race.

Bradford City open their Carabao Cup campaign at home to Rochdale on Saturday, carrying the weight of a difficult domestic run into a competition where cup football has a habit of producing surprises.