Port Vale travel to an in-form Northampton Town side this afternoon where Askey’s side will look to make it three unbeaten in League Two. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Northampton Town v Port Vale
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Saturday 8th February 2020
Kick-Off: 3:00 pm
Venue: PTS Academy Stadium
Referee: Charles Breakspear
Port Vale
Manager: John Askey
Form: LWLWD
Top Goal Scorer: Tom Pope (8 goals)
The Valiants will be heading to Northampton with confidence following a well-earned point against a resurgent Salford City side last Saturday, which came just days after a stunning 3-1 win against Exeter City at Vale Park.
It’s just one defeat in the last four in the league for Askey’s men and they go into this one just three points off the top-seven, and a win this afternoon could see a rise to eighth place in the table.
It’s been an exciting week at Vale Park that has seen David Worrall and Scott Burgess both sign contract extensions, keeping the pair at the club until 2022. Further good news regarding the team comes in the form of Nathan Smith and Cristian Montano who will both be in contention for tomorrow’s match after missing out last week. Emmanuel Oyeleke is also set to be included in the matchday squad to further bolster Askey’s options.
“As we always say, it’s about us and if we can perform like we can then we’ve got a great chance.”
John Askey, Port Vale Manager
Northampton Town
Manager: Keith Curle
Form: WDDWW
Top Goal Scorer: Andy Williams (8 goals)
Despite an FA Cup defeat to Championship outfit, Derby County, last time out, the Cobblers are unbeaten in the league since 29th December, winning five of their last six in the division.
Their home form has also played a pivotal part in their success so far this campaign, they haven’t lost at the PTS Academy Stadium since 5th October, and they currently find themselves in the play-off places, just two points off Plymouth Argyle in third.
Jordan Turnbull has returned to training for the club and Scott Wharton returned from his ban on Tuesday night. Alan McCormack is also back in training.
One to watch: Sam Hoskins
Hoskins played his youth football at current Premier League outfit, Southampton, and was released by the club in June 2013 having spent the majority of his time out on loan.
In June 2013 he signed for Yeovil Town who had just been promoted to the Championship at the time, yet after their relegation to League One that campaign, he was sent out on loan once again, this time to Barnet at the beginning of the 2014-15 season. He only made seven appearances for Barnet before returning to Yeovil where he was released in 2015 following their second relegation in as many seasons.
Since then however, Hoskins has found a new home in the PTS Academy Stadium, and has been at the club since signing an initial one-year deal back in 2015. The forward has been in form lately, scoring four goals in the Cobbler’s last eight games in all competitions, and has seven in the league so far this campaign.
Talk
John Askey: “Northampton I think at the moment are the form team, very strong, good on set-pieces and it’s going to be a really difficult game for us.”
Keith Curle: “Port Vale is another challenge and we need to make sure we turn up and impose ourselves on the game. “
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.