Crawley went in to the season with high hopes after a change of ownership last season and the signing of last season’s divisional leading scorer Dom Telford in the summer, but results in the first half of the season haven’t matched those expectations, and a change of management saw former Tottenham, West Ham and Stoke winger Matthew Etherington take over from Kevin Betsy, who had been appointed in the summer. Crawley have particularly struggled away from home where they are still looking for their first win after ten games, but at home they have recorded five wins in eleven games, all against sides above them in the current League Two table, although their last game at the Broadfield Stadium saw them beaten at home by Hartlepool, who were bottom of the table at the time of the game.

Sutton’s defeat at Leyton Orient was a first in four games, but manager Matt Gray was encouraged by the performance, particularly in the first hour as the League Two leaders struggled to find a way through before a piece of brilliance by Paul Smyth put them in front. Striker Donovan Wilson, who missed last week’s game through injury, is fit again and available for the holiday programme but Adam Lovatt is still not fully recovered from the concussion he suffered at Carlisle and will not be able to feature at Crawley. Both Ben Goodliffe and Aaron Pierre played in a brief training game this week with no ill effects and are now close to being available for selection again.

The referee is Neil Hair, who has been an EFL referee since 2018 and has refereed a number of Sutton games in the past, most recently the 2-1 win against Harrogate in September.

Tickets are on sale from our Club Shop between 10am and 2pm on Christmas Eve. Seated and standing accomodation is available. Prices are: Seats (East Stand): Adults (age 21+) £17; Concession(age 60+, student with ID) £12; Young Adult (age 16-20) £5; Young Person (age 12-15) £4 or free with paying adult or concession; Under 12 free with paying adult

Terrace (KR-L Stand): Adults £15; Concessions £10; Young Adult, Young Person and Under 12 as above.

Any tickets that have been ordered over the phone can be collected from the Match Day Ticket Collection Window in the grey portacabin at the Broadfield Stadium.

Anyone who hasn’t bought a ticket need not worry as there are plenty of tickets available on the day from the ticket office or the ticket cabin, with no change in price.

As it is a Bank Holiday fixture the game is being live streamed, and a match pass, price £10, can be purchased here.

The supporters’ coach leaves the VBS Community Stadium at 12.45pm.

There are no Southern trains on Boxing Day, but the Broadfield Stadium is an easy ground to get to by road, the ground being adjacent to the A23 just north of junction 11 of the M23, postcode RH11 9RX.  While there is no on-site parking for spectators, there are free car park spaces at Broadfield Park, on your left between the M23 and the ground, and Tilgate Business Centre, both within five minutes’ walk of the stadium.