It may well have seemed like a long time coming, but having gone about their business in quiet fashion The Shots clawed their way into the play-off berths last weekend following their 2-1 victory over Morecambe and having finally entered the League Two spotlight, Kevin Dillon's men will have the all new challenge from here on in, in trying to stay there.
With Crewe being the league's current top scorers - owed partly to the fact that they thrashed Barnet 7-0 in the opening month of the season and have also registered high scoring draws against Chesterfield [5-5] and Torquay United [3-3], the match will certainly throw open a difficult challenge for The Shots, and with thirty-two goals already recorded this season, the Railwaymen will be confident going into the match and midfielder Luke Murphy told the media: "Aldershot will come and pass the ball, rather than look for the second balls and if we beat them we will go above them in the table, which takes us closer to those play-off places.
"We're ten games unbeaten and that's pretty incredible. Everybody is full of confidence and optimism that we will be able to push up with the big boys in League Two. If we can get a win it will show we are making progress."
The Shots enter the match in seventh place with eighteen points from twelve games while Crewe are just two points behind in tenth from the same amount of games.
Shots team news
Aldershot travel to the match in high spirits having won three of their last four league games but Dillon is mindful of his counterpart's tactics telling The Shots Online, "His [Dario Gradi's] philosophy seems to be 'we'll score more goals than them' and I watched them last season against Morecambe and they were cruising 3-0, penalty, man sent off and they lost 4-3 in the end which is amazing, but he's done that a few times this season and they've had some strange results but I'm sure it's always a good time at their stadium.
"Hopefully we can stop that goalscoring rout that they've been going through and keep a clean sheet, which will be very unusual."
Jack Randall is available but is unlikely to feature given that Dillon believes that he is still a few matches away from full match fitness and it is possible that he could find himself out on loan in order to facilitate that requirement.
John Halls meanwhile could also miss out following his straight red dismissal in the Reserves on Tuesday afternoon. Although his three-match ban isn't due to begin until the club's League Two fixture against Macclesfield Town, Dillon revealed his disappointment in the experienced player's actions this week and may see fit to impose some additional justice by means of leaving him out.
There are also slight doubts over Luke Guttridge whose wife is due to have a baby imminently so the boss is prepared for any short notice changes that he may be forced to make should the news come through ahead of the match.
One player who will be hoping to feature though is striker Marlon Jackson. The Bristol City player extended his stay with the club on Thursday afternoon penning another one-month deal.
There are two current players who have ties to the opposition - Shots captain Anthony Charles joined Crewe in a £5000 deal back in 1999, but failed to make an appearance while former Shot Joel Grant joined the Railwaymen in a £130000 deal back in 2008.
Shots from: Jamie Young, Ross Kitteridge, Ben Herd, Anthony Straker, Glen Little, Anthony Charles, Darren Jones, Jamie Vincent, Ben Harding, Luke Guttridge, John Halls, Danny Hylton, Marvin Morgan, Manny Panther, Jermaine McGlashan, Wade Small, Damian Spencer, Jack Randall, Reece Connolly, Marlon Jackson and Clayton Fortune.
The opposition
With just two defeats this season, there appears to be more than just one dimention to the Railwaymen's game this season as Dario Gradi appears to be launching an all-or-nothing throw of the dice. Several of his top players are set to walk away from the club for free at the end of the season as contracts are up ans speaking at a Fans' Forum earlier this week, Gradi told supporters: "There are several players who we know won't sign new contracts because we won't be offering them anything like they are on.
"Joel [Grant], Clayton [Donaldson] and [Calvin] Zola are all earning Championship money and there will still be clubs around willing to pay them that. But we can't now.
"Donaldson earns around £20000 above our top wage bracket. Even if he was to score 20 goals this season we wouldn't be able to offer him what he is on now. Those days are gone and we need to accept that.
"The Conference is full of clubs who have showed ambition. But if showing ambition means spending money you haven't got, that can put you out of business."
Mat Mitchel-King is likely to return to the bench despite having impressed during his recent run-outs while in form striker Clayton Donaldson is expected to play, but will face a fitness test today [Thursday] having picked up a twisted knee in last weekend's 2-0 away victory against Southend United Jordan Connerton will also be missing with a suspected hernia.
Railwaymen from: Steve Phillips, Rhys Taylor, Bartek Fogler, Ben Garratt, Matt Tootle, Danny Blanchett, Ashley Westwood, David Artell, Patrick Ada, Clayton Donaldson, Luke Murphy, Calvin Zola, Shaun Miller, Joel Grant, Lee Bell, Byron Moore, Mat Mitchel-King, Danny Shelley, Ajay Leitch-Smith, Kelvin Mellor, Carl Martin, Antoni Sarcevic, Harry Davis, Adam Dugdale, Nick Powell and Lewis Short.
- You can visit the official Crewe Alexandra website here.
Taking charge
Andy Haines will be taking charge of the match and he will be assisted by Darren Bond and Michael Salisbury. Andrew Scregg is the fourth official.
Weather forecast
The BBC Weather forecast for the match is given as heavy rain showers with highs of 9°C.
Ticket news
Tickets prices for this match are priced at:
Adult seats: £19.
Senior Citizens seats: £15.
Under 16s & Over 12s seats: £8.50.
Disabled: £15.
Family Tickets 1 x adult + 1 x under 11 (in Family Stand only): £19
The match is not all ticket and supporters can pay on the turnstiles on the day.
Other news
Supporters unable to make the match will be able to listen to live match commentary via BBC Radio Surrey on 104.6FM where Gavin Denison and Aldershot Town Media Manager Steve Gibbs will be kicking off coverage after the 2pm news.
Supporters are reminded that there is NO internet coverage of the match.
Two Shots players are set to hit landmarks this weekend if selected, captain Anthony Charles will make his 200th appearance in a Shots shirt and Anthony Straker will hit the 150 mark if he plays.