EFL League Two PREVIEW 12 Sep 2026: Lindsey Returns to Old Club Swindon, Twelve Fixtures Across the Division

EFL League Two plays twelve fixtures on 12 September 2026: Crawley Town host Cheltenham Town, Grimsby Town host Bristol Rovers, Barnet host Accrington Stanley, Colchester United host Crewe Alexandra, Gillingham host Tranmere Rovers, Newport County host Fleetwood Town, Oldham Athletic host Chesterfield, Port Vale host Exeter City, Rotherham United host Salford City, Shrewsbury Town host Northampton Town, Walsall host Rochdale and York City host Swindon Town.

Crawley Town, still searching for their first home league win of the season, lost 3-2 away at Accrington Stanley, taking just one point from their last three matches; manager Colin Kazim-Richards said his side "switched off in moments" and "beat ourselves," though winger Dion Pereira is back after missing the first five games through injury and scored an equaliser off the bench against Northampton. Cheltenham Town, unbeaten in three matches, drew 2-2 at home to Grimsby after leading 2-0; George Miller and Favour Onukwuli remain out.

Grimsby Town are unbeaten in the league since an opening-day win over Exeter City, their last four games all draws, most recently a 2-2 comeback against Cheltenham through Mark Shelton and Kieran Green; summer signing Josh Andrews is set to be out for a couple of months with a knee issue. Bristol Rovers, chasing a fifth consecutive League Two win, beat Rotherham United 1-0 through Tommy Leigh, who was then substituted at half-time against Rotherham with hamstring fatigue; manager Steve Evans called the trip to Grimsby "a different kettle of fish... taking on David Artell's boys," while defender Keenan Gough has missed the last three matches through injury.

Barnet are seeking their first win in seventeen days after a 4-1 defeat to Colchester United, in which manager Dean Brennan called Colchester's Jack Payne "sensational"; defenders Kane Smith and Nikola Tavares were both injured in that match. Accrington Stanley, missing Liam Coyle, Tyler Walton, Kelsey Mooney, Isaac Sinclair and Conor Grant to injury and Donald Love, Devon Matthews, Luke Butterfield and Josh Woods to suspension, lost 2-0 to Shrewsbury Town in their last match; manager John Doolan called it the "worst we have played for a while" but said he remained proud of his players given the depleted squad, and said he could only name five substitutes.

Colchester United beat Barnet 4-1 before losing 3-1 away at Swindon Town, from which deadline-day signings Kylian Kouassi and Jay Williams were both withdrawn before the 70th minute on their debuts; manager Danny Cowley said Kouassi "was incredible for us in the first half" but that his return needs "a layered, gradual approach." Crewe Alexandra, under manager Lee Bell, started the season with four consecutive wins before back-to-back defeats, most recently a 1-1 draw with York City; Calum Agius is unavailable on Wales Under-21s duty, while striker Emre Tezgel could start after a hat-trick in an EFL Trophy rout of Chesterfield.

Gillingham, unbeaten in four games under Gareth Ainsworth, beat Rochdale 4-1 in their last match and are chasing a first home win of the season; the club also has Josh Andrews facing around two months out with a knee injury, unrelated to Grimsby's player of the same name. Tranmere Rovers, unbeaten so far this season under new manager Darrell Clarke, beat Oldham Athletic 2-0 in their last match; Bobby Faulkner returns from suspension, though Luke Norris and Regan Hendry remain out.

Newport County lost 1-0 away to Northampton Town, beaten by an 87th-minute Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh winner despite late chances through Yahya Bamba and Nathan Opoku. Fleetwood Town, unbeaten so far this season, beat Shrewsbury Town 2-0 through Ronan Coughlan and Aaron Loupalo-Bi; head coach Matt Lawlor called Newport "a good team, technical, good passers, speed in the side, experience up top," and said Fleetwood need a faster start after slow openings in recent matches. Coughlan, in prolific form for the club since joining in January 2024, has signed a new contract extension to 2028.

Oldham Athletic, under manager Micky Mellon, lost 2-0 away at Tranmere Rovers, Dylan Jones and a Joe Ironside penalty scoring for the hosts. Chesterfield, managed by Paul Cook and expected to be involved in the play-off race again after reaching the semi-finals last season, drew 3-3 at home to Barnet, Louie Marsh scoring twice before Joel Randall equalised late.

Port Vale's winless run continued with a 1-0 home defeat to Salford City, Joe Powell's 25-yard free-kick deciding it after Connor Hall had hit the crossbar for Vale; manager Jon Brady said his forward options are stark, with loan forward Mo Faal expected to be out for a considerable time and Jasper Moon and Max Watters both long-term absentees. Exeter City drew 0-0 at home to Walsall in their last match, a game with chances at both ends.

Rotherham United lost 1-0 away at Bristol Rovers, Tommy Leigh's 32nd-minute strike deciding it, with midfielder Kian Spence a doubt for the Salford game. Salford City, chasing a third successive win after three opening defeats, beat Newport County 2-1 through late goals from Taylor Allen and Kelly Nmai; manager Peter Cklamovski said "we felt like we just needed that circuit breaker," and the club's deadline-day signing Dan Scarr, signed from Wrexham, could get his first minutes against his former head coach's old club Rotherham, where Rotherham boss Alex Bruce and assistant Steve Agnew both previously coached.

Shrewsbury Town, missing Sam Stubbs (concussion, around three weeks) and Jack Price (hamstring, up to two months), lost back-to-back away games at Fleetwood and Rochdale; manager Gavin Cowan said he would accept "a scrappy performance" as long as his side come away with three points, adding "the players need a mental rest." Northampton Town, unbeaten in three matches under new manager Chris Hogg, beat Newport County 1-0 through a late Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh goal; Hogg said the squad have picked up no fresh injuries.

Walsall, unbeaten in their last two matches (a draw with Crewe and a goalless draw at Exeter), have Rico Browne passed fit after a calf issue, though Roman Dixon's return may come too soon; head coach Lee Grant said he feels "a sense of duty in terms of our performances at home" and praised fans who travelled to recent away games. Rochdale, beaten 4-1 by Gillingham after an earlier 3-0 win over Shrewsbury, are missing Sam Beckwith along with long-term absentees Bryant Bilongo, Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Ryan East, Casey Pettit and Will Jenkins; head coach Ian Watson said simply, "we have to respond." Rochdale forward Devante Rodney previously played for Walsall, making 14 appearances in 2022.

York City drew away at Crewe Alexandra, coming back from an early Luke Offord goal; head coach Scott Lindsey, who managed Swindon Town from 2022 to 2023, returns to face his former club, while forward Louis Millard is having a scan on a shoulder injury. Swindon Town, under Ian Holloway, beat Colchester United 3-1 through an Aaron Drinan hat-trick; Holloway called his side "crap in the first half" but praised Drinan, calling the win "a massive result against a bogey team for us," and the club has added forward Antwoine Hackford from AFC Wimbledon and re-signed midfielder Danny Butterworth.