Port Vale travel to Crawley Town this afternoon where John Askey’s side will be looking to pick up their fifth win in a row at The People's Pension Stadium. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Crawley Town v Port Vale
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Saturday 14th December 2019
Kick-Off: 3:00 pm
Venue: The People’s Pension Stadium
Referee: Will Finnie
Port Vale
Manager: John Askey
Form: WLWWL
Top Goal Scorer: Jake Taylor (6 goals all comps)
Port Vale will be heading into this one with confidence despite defeat last weekend, with just two losses in their last 11 in all competitions, Askey’s men sit just three points away from a play-off spot.
Port Vale flaunt a good record against the Red’s heading into this fixture, having won six of the last eight meetings between the two clubs, including winning their last four at The People’s Pension Stadium.
The Vale will still be without Adam Crookes and Emmanuel Oyeleke who still remain out with long-term injuries, and David Worrall and Tom Conlon will also miss out through suspension. However, Luke Joyce returns after serving his one-match ban, along with Rhys Browne who returned to training this week after he missed last weekend’s match through illness.
“The things that have been going on at the football club have kept the players full of confidence, and we’ve got to make sure that we start performing again.”
John Askey, Port Vale Manager
Crawley Town
Manager: John Yems
Form: LDLLD
Top Goal Scorer: Beryly Lubala (9 goals all comps)
Crawley head into this fixture on a poor run of form of late, winning just two in their last 15 in all competitions, losing ten of them. However, Crawley moved up to 16th in the table following a 0-0 draw against Stevenage last time out.
Manager John Yems was appointed as manager earlier on this month after Gabrielle Cioffi departed following a poor run of form, and this will no doubt lift the spirit of the players heading into this fixture.
The Reds have no new injury troubles, and Tom Dalllison returns to contention after serving his one-match suspension.
One to watch: Beryly Lubala
Lubala is proving to be a bright spark during an underwhelming season thus far, with nine goals in all competitions, the attacking midfielder is Crawley’s top scorer this campaign.
The 21-year-old began his career at Birmingham City and featured regularly for the Under-23 side but due to a lack of game time with the first team, Lubala joined Crawley in June of this year and is flourishing in League Two.
Lubala has featured in 19 of Crawley’s 20 league matches so far this campaign, and no doubt will look to cause the Vale defence some problems tomorrow afternoon.
Talk
John Askey: “Things will change with them [Crawley Town], the preparation. You’re never too sure on the formation they’re going to play, if the set-pieces are going to be different, we’ve just got to be aware of what might happen, and adjust accordingly on the pitch.”
John Yems: "I hope the fans will be a bit patient with us, give us a bit of time, because there's things we want to do , that we feel will be the best for the players."
Coverage:
iFollow 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 the 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.