Vale kick off their Checkatrade Trophy campaign on Tuesday night as they host Burton Albion in a group stage game, and you can find all of the key information ahead of the tie below...
Date: Tuesday 9th October 2018
Kick-Off: 7:45pm
Competition: Checkatrade Trophy
Venue: Vale Park
Referee: Robert Lewis
Port Vale
Form: WLLLDWWDLL
Top Scorer: Tom Pope (4 goals)
Neil Aspin's men will be looking to arrest their recent run of two successive defeats on Tuesday night, but the manager is likely to name a rotated squad due to injuries forcing several players to be out of contention.
Manny Oyeleke, Cristian Montano and James Gibbons are all absent due to their respective problems, whilst some of the more senior players may be handed a rest due to the hectic schedule that October poses.
Vale progressed through to the knockout stages of the Checkatrade Trophy before bowing out to Shrewsbury Town in 2017/18 and they will be looking to get off to a positive start this time around.
Burton Albion
Form: WLWLDWWDLL
Top Scorer: Liam Boyce (7 goals)
After suffering relegation from the Sky Bet Championship last season, the Brewers have struggled for consistency so far in Sky Bet League One and they currently lie in 18th position.
Marvin Sordell found the net against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't enough to prevent his side falling to a 2-1 defeat against the Chairboys, meaning it's now three games without a win for Burton.
Nigel Clough does have David Templeton, Stephen Quinn and John Brayford sidelined due to injuries, whilst prolific striker Liam Boyce is away on International duty with Northern Ireland. The Brewers are still looking for their first win in the competition having lost to Walsall just over a month ago.
One To Watch: Marvin Sordell
With Premier League experience under his belt, Sordell is a player who can cause problems for opposition defences at this level and he will be eager to get his name on the scoresheet if he is selected to feature.
Having enjoyed spells at Watford, Bolton Wanderers and Burnley as well as representing Team GB in their London 2012 football squad, the 27-year-old has been forced to drop into the Football League over recent years.
However, after signing for Burton Albion in January 2017 from Coventry City, he has been utilised in a number of positions and he has impressed fans of the Brewers. One of his two goals this season came in style during Saturday's defeat to Wycombe Wanderers, and he will be wanting to make it two in two on Tuesday night.
Talk
Neil Aspin: "Firstly I've got to weigh up who is not going to play and then decide how many changes I can make.
"There must be thought behind it and there must be a reason why I'm doing something, and we need to look at which players are going to benefit from the game.
"I'll take my time to decide, possibly a couple of people will play that I didn't see playing a week ago."
Nigel Clough: "After Saturday everything is under review. If you are not winning you have to look at everything so formations might change a bit. We will have a look at one or two things tomorrow night.
"Everybody gets opportunities and if they get left out there are very good reasons and they have to do more to stay in the team."
Coverage
Follow The Vale will be providing full 90 minute commentary from the match, whilst the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feeds will be providing live updates for the entirety.
There will also be build-up to the game with the official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: officialpvfc.
Reaction will be available on the official website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and social media.