John Askey's Port Vale side will be hoping for a repeat result against Mansfield from last season when we host The Stags this afternoon, as we look to make it four wins on the bounce at Vale Park in the league this season. You can find all the key information ahead of todays game below:
Fixture: Port Vale vs Mansfield Town
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Port Vale
Manager: John Askey
Form: DWLWLWL
Top Goal Scorer(s): Richie Bennett (3 goals)
The Valiants head into this afternoons game in great form at Vale Park having picked up three wins on the bounce and just one draw since the start of the season in the league at home. Askey will be keen to remind his players of what they're capable of against Mansfield, having overcome the Stags back in March with a 2-0 win.
Askey will be hopeful however that his side can bounce back from Tuesdays defeat away to Exeter City, where the league leaders came out with a 2-0 win thanks to two late goals. The Vale had to make three changes heading into the game after last weeks injury hit game against Plymouth, with on loan midfielder Jake Taylor making his first his start in the football league.
After going from an empty injury room to a filled one, Askey has been dealt with a further blow with Rhys Browne. The winger had only just returned from injury before playing 70 minutes against Plymouth last week and another hour against Exeter, and Askey has confirmed Browne came off on Tuesday after feeling his hamstring tighten. David Amoo could return to feature after recovering from his hamstring injury last weekend.
“It’s always going to be difficult against teams like Mansfield but as we saw last season when we played them when they were flying, if we are at our best then we’re more than capable of beating them.
John Askey, Port Vale manager.
Mansfield Town
Manager: John Dempster
Form: LDLWLL
Top Goal Scorer(s): Danny Rose (6 goals)
Having narrowly missed out on a play-off final spot last season after losing on penalties to Newport County, Mansfield Town will have been dissapointed with the start they've made to the 2019/20 season, picking up just four points out of a possible 18 so far this season.
It took until the start of this month for The Stags to secure their first win of the season under manager John Dempster. A 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Scunthorpe United earned Mansfield a much needed three points. Dempsters side arrive at Vale Park on the back of two straight defeats and will be looking to pick their first away win of the season.
The Stags will be without defender Matt Preston after he received his marching orders against Cambridge United on Tuesday for a reckless challenge on former Vale man, Luke Hannant. Dangerman Nicky Maynard is also a doubt for Mansfield with a slight hamstring injury. Craig Davies and Jordan Graham and goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik will also miss out.
We owe Vale one after they beat us there last season but we beat them 4-0 there a couple of years ago in what was a very dominant performance and we’ll hope for more of the same this weekend.
Danny Rose, Mansfield Town striker.
One To Watch: CJ Hamilton
A man with plenty of pace and a wicked left foot, CJ Hamilton will be the man to keep an eye tomorrow when The Stags visit Vale Park.
Hamilton terrorised the Vale last November when we visited Mansfield and marked the game with the opening goal. His performances last season earned him a spot in the EFL League Two Team of the Season.
Though Hamilton hasn't quite made the start he would've hoped for this season, the forward still posesses plenty of skill and can't be underestimated by Askey's men this afternoon.
Talk:
John Askey: “We’ve just got to make sure that every time we go out there we give everything we’ve got, then we know we’ll get the results.”
John Dempster: "Port Vale is not an easy place to go. We will go again, it is what you do, It is tin helmet time, I will stand and be counted and the players need to do the same.”
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.