York City are an EFL club again after an absence of a decade but their plans for the new season were thrown into disarray by the shock dismissal of promotion-winning manager Stuart Maynard last week.
The Minstermen take on fellow League Two side Crawley Town for the final place in this season's EFL Cup first round after National League play-off winners Rochdale beat Tranmere on penalties in Saturday's first preliminary-round clash.
The teams have not met since York were last in the EFL in 2015-16, when Crawley drew 2-2 at Bootham Crescent, and this could be a closer contest than the odds suggest.
York City v Crawley Town Tips Summary
Best Bet - Draw @ 29/10
Alternative Bet - Both teams to score @ 3/4
Bet Builder - Draw or Crawley Town double chance, Ollie Pearce anytime goalscorer, Match Goals Range: 3-5 goals, @ 12/1
York City v Crawley Town Prediction
Best Bet: Draw @ 29/10
This looked a fairly standard fixture just 10 days ago but last week's unexpected events at York have turned it into a fascinating encounter.
York won an epic battle with Rochdale for the National League title to end a decade of playing outside the EFL, winning 33 of their 46 league games and amassing 108 points and a goal difference of plus-73, but still needing a 103rd-minute equaliser on the final day to pip Dale to the title.
It was a fantastic season for Stuart Maynard's side and they are among the favourites for promotion in their first campaign back, but their fans were stunned last Monday when Maynard was unexpectedly fired.
The club have replaced him with former Crawley boss Scott Lindsey, who was himself sacked by the West Sussex club in March, with the Red Devils deep in relegation trouble in League Two.
Lindsey had won promotion to League One via the play-offs in a previous spell with Crawley and the York owners are clearly hopeful of a repeat of that, but the timing at the very least has to be questioned as Lindsey took training for the first time only on Saturday.
Crawley staved off relegation after well-travelled striker and Turkey international Colin Kazim-Richards took over at the Broadfield Stadium and they have now clocked up 15 years as an EFL club.
Both clubs have had a typical mixed bag of pre-season results and while Crawley have gone through plenty of change themselves, with three loan players arriving over the weekend, they look to have been dismissed too lightly in the market.
York were strong at home in the league last season, winning 17 of their 23 home league games, but this is still a step up for them and it's hard to know how they will react to the change of manager.
Taking the scores to be level after 90 minutes, which would see the tie going straight to a shootout, could be the value option.
Alternative Bet: Both teams to score @ 3/4
Crawley dug in with two 0-0 home draws in their final two home games last season to stay just above the drop zone but their games seem likely to be more entertaining this term under enterprising coach Kazim-Richards and taking both teams to score in the contest looks worthwhile whatever the outcome.
The Reds were more open in their away matches at the end of last term, with trips to Bristol Rovers and Accrington finishing 3-1 and 3-3, and they are not short of attacking talent.
Both teams scored in all five of York's friendly matches, which ended with a 2-1 home defeat by League One Peterborough, and both sides can get on the scoresheet on Monday.
York City v Crawley Town Bet Builder Tip
Draw or Crawley Town double chance
Match Goals Range: 3-5 goals
Ollie Pearce anytime goalscorer
Pays 12/1
Start a three-leg bet builder on Monday's match by taking Crawley in the double-chance market to at least get to take their chance in a shootout.
The Red Devils have had a positive outlook in pre-season, and while they lost to League One duo Oxford United and Reading, they were very much in the battle in their 1-0 defeat to the Royals on Friday.
Adding the match to finish with three to five goals could be worthwhile, with a 2-2 draw looking a reasonable option for the correct score, as neither of the defences have looked great in pre-season.
One of those goals could be supplied by York's Ollie Pearce, who finished eight clear at the top of the National League top-scorer list last season with 34.
Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.
Key Match Stats
York finished first in the National League last season
Crawley were 22nd in League Two last term
York's last three defeats were all sustained on the road
Crawley have lost only two of their seven matches under Colin Kazim-Richards
Three of the teams' last four meetings have ended in draws
Crawley are unbeaten in their last five matches against York
Read more football betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
