Port Vale are aiming to bounce back to winning ways in the league, when we travel to the Sands Venue Stadium to take on Scunthorpe United tomorrow. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Scunthorpe United vs Port Vale
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Tuesday 26th January
Kick-Off: 7:00 pm
Venue: Sands Venue Stadium
Referee: James Bell
Port Vale
Manager: Danny Pugh
Form: DLWDL
Top Goal Scorer: Devante Rodney (7 Goals)
Port Vale will be hoping to repeat the success from our last visit to the Sands Venue Stadium, where goals from Zak Mills and Theo Robinson were able to secure a 2-1 victory in the first round of this season’s Carabao Cup.
Three points for the Valiants could see Danny Pugh’s side climb three places and move as high as 13th in the table should results go our way, with the Vale also keen to avenge the 1-0 loss from when we welcomed the Iron to Vale Park earlier this season.
James Gibbons made his long-awaited return to action at the weekend, coming off the bench against Walsall, so could make his first start since October for the side. Vale will be without Tom Pope and Dino Visser due to injury however, with Devante Rodney also a doubt, although there was more good news as Cristian Montano has been able to return to training and new goalkeeper signing Tom Scott is available for selection.
“We can’t shy away from what happened on Saturday, we can’t just push it to one side, we need to look at where we could improve, otherwise we’ll never get better.”
Danny Pugh, Port Vale Interim Manager
Scunthorpe United
Manager: Neil Cox
Form: WLLLW
Top Goal Scorer: Abo Eisa (6 Goals)
The Iron have had a tough time so far this season, with poor results seeing them left sat just five points outside of the drop zone, with Neil Cox hoping they can capitalise on their win against Grimsby Town last time out and steer towards mid-table.
Scunthorpe were successful in their last meeting with the Vale, as a world-class strike from Abo Eisa was enough to pick up all three points at Vale Park, a feat they will be eager to repeat tomorrow evening.
Defender Jordan Clarke is expected to miss the clash whilst forward Abo Eisa is a minor doubt for the fixture after taking a knock at the weekend, with fellow attacker Kevin Van Veen also a doubt, although the Dutchman was able to return to training this week.
One to watch: Abo Eisa
The 25-year-old winger has been one of the few shining lights in Scunthorpe’s season, with his six goals making him the Iron’s top goalscorer for this campaign.
The man from Sudan started his senior career in England at non-league level with Uxbridge in 2015, before moving to Wealdstone in 2017.
He turned professional in January 2018 when he signed for Shrewsbury Town where he made ten appearances, scoring one goal in his time with the Shrews.
He had a six-month loan spell at Colchester United from January 2019, where his performances earned him a permanent move to Scunthorpe in the August of 2019, where he has since become a critical figure in the Iron attack.
Talk:
Danny Pugh: “It’s another big game for us. We know exactly what Scunthorpe are, we know where the dangers are and it will be another tough test for us, but it’s one we believe we are ready for.”
Neil Cox: “We'll do our homework on them but it's about what we do, how we're going to play and our intensity.”
Coverage:
iFollow The Vale will be providing full 90-minute coverage of the match for all domestic supporters, whilst the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feeds will be providing live updates for the entirety.
To purchase an iFollow match pass click here.
There will also be the build-up to the game with the official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: @officialpvfc
Reaction will be available on the website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and our official social media channels.