Port Vale will be looking for their first league win of 2019 when they make the long journey south to face Crawley Town in Sky Bet League Two this afternoon, and we’ve compiled all of the key information ahead of the tie, below.
Fixture: Crawley Town vs Port Vale
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Saturday 19th January 2019
Kick-Off: 3:00pm
Venue: The People's Pension Stadium
Referee: Dean Whitestone
Port Vale
Form: WWDDDLLDWL
League Position: 19th
Top Scorer: Tom Pope (11 goals)
The Valiants will be looking to immediately bounce back following their disappointing result at home to Colchester United last weekend. Goals from Harry Pell and Courtney Senior condemned Vale to a 3-0 defeat at Vale Park.
Since then, Neil Aspin has brought in two new faces, both of which are available for selection against The Red Devils this afternoon. Adam Crookes signed at Vale Park on loan from Nottingham Forest on Monday of this week, and the new-boy is looking to make an immediate impact in this Vale side. He can play either as either a left-back, or on the left-hand side of central defence.
Danny Elliot was unveiled as a Vale player just yesterday as he signed a deal that will keep him at Vale Park until the end of this season. The forward has been training with Port Vale for a few weeks now and the boss believes he is ready for league football.
Elliot may get an immediate chance this afternoon as Vale will be without their top goal scorer and captain, Tom Pope, who has been ruled out for roughly three weeks after picking up a hamstring injury against Colchester. Aspin will also be without the services of Cristian Montano who is yet to recover from the injury that forced him to miss the Colchester tie.
Crawley Town
Form: WLLLLDWWLL
League Position: 17th
Top Scorer: Ollie Palmer (12 goals)
Crawley will be looking to end a two-game losing run having been overcome by Mansfield Town and Stevenage in their last two league fixtures. Sitting just two places above Vale in the league, a loss this weekend will see Aspin’s side jump just one point behind them with a game in-hand.
Gabriele Cioffi will have to do without Josh Payne after the midfielder picked up his 10th booking of the season in the loss to Mansfield on Tuesday night. Joe McNerney is set to return having played out his three-match ban, and Filipe Morais and Lewis Young will also be available having come through their last fixture without a problem.
Cioffi’s side will be out for revenge having been beaten last time they faced Apin’s side. A single Luke Hannant goal was enough to secure The Valiants’ victory on the day, back in August.
One to watch: Dominic Poleon
Poleon joined Crawley in the summer of 2018 from Bradford City on a two-year deal. His career began with Leeds United where he would make his debut against Nottingham Forest in 2012. Whilst with The Whites, Poleon enjoyed two loan spells away from the club with Bury, then Sheffield United.
Leaving Leeds in 2014, he signed for Oldham Athletic where he would stay for three seasons, before joining AFC Wimbledon. A brief spell with Bradford City led to the forward signing at The People's Pension Stadium last summer.
Poleon is a powerful forward with a keen eye for goal, scoring five times so far this season.
Talk
Neil Aspin: "I know we're in a bad place at the moment and nobody recognises that more than me, but the only way we can change it is by winning a game. As soon as we get it, hopefully that would give everyone a lift.
"We can't wait forever for it because we need a result, but we've got to look to Saturday and be positive. We must go there to try and win the game - we need a win in the league to get us going again."
Gabriele Cioffi: “We go into every game here confident of getting a result, but Port Vale have a very good record away from home. They are an experienced team with threats throughout their team so once again we need to be at our best.”
Coverage
Follow The Vale will be providing full 90 minute commentary from the match, while the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feed 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.