Marcus Braddock looks ahead to this evenings Port Vale t
Tonight we take on Port vale in the Checkatrade Trophy Northern Section third round at Vale Park. To get to this stage of the competition they've beaten Burton, Middlesbrough u21 and Walsall in the group stages and then Stoke U21 in the last round. In the other cup competitions, Vale lost to Lincoln in the League Cup first round and to Sunderland at home in the first round of the F.A. Cup. Their League campaign is at a bit of a low ebb at the moment with no League wins since late November. Their last game was a 1-1 draw at Lincoln in League Two on January 1st.
Head to Head
Town have played Port Vale 53 times and have won twenty of those games with Port Vale winning 16. We've met twice in this competition winning at Vale 2-1 in December 2017 and at home to Vale in 2002 at Gay Meadow where we won 2-1 again.
Top Scorer (Checkatrade Trophy only)
Cristian Montano 2
Rick Miller 2
Clean Sheets
Three from four games in this competition.
Referee - Eddie Ilderton from Tyne and Wear. Games this season: 4. Yellow cards: 14. Red cards:0.
Assistant: Nik Barnard and Gareth Mellor
Fourth Official: Christopher Sarginson
Squad News
Port Vale centre-back Connell Rawlinson may miss out because of a heel injury.
Town will be without Lenell John-Lewis and Shaun Whalley.
Summary
This looks likely to be a difficult game for us for a few reasons, one of which is their form in this competition with nine goals scored and just one conceded. They have also had a bit of a break since New Years Day when they drew 1-1 at Lincoln. They're likely to name a more regular eleven than we may with tired legs from the Christmas period. As ever though, if we play our best we can get something from this game.
COYB!!!