Match Preview: Mansfield Town

Match Preview: Mansfield Town

Port Vale will hope to end the season on a high, when we welcome Mansfield Town to Vale Park this weekend. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.

Fixture: Port Vale vs Mansfield Town

Competition: Sky Bet League Two

Date: Saturday 8th May

Kick-Off: 3:00 pm

Venue: Vale Park

Referee: Sam Allison

 

Port Vale

Manager: Darrell Clarke

Form: WDWWL

Top Goal Scorer: Devante Rodney (11 Goals)

The Valiants have the opportunity to end the season with three points in the final clash of the season at Vale Park, as we take on 17th placed Mansfield Town, with the chance to secure a top half finish should results go our way.

Vale will be hoping to get revenge over the Stags who secured a 4-0 win in the reverse fixture, in our first game of the year, and get back to winning ways after last week saw the end of our nine match unbeaten streak.

Captain Tom Conlon will be hoping to get on the scoresheet during the encounter, as one goal will see him level with top goalscorer Devante Rodney in league strikes, however Rodney will no doubt be looking to end his impressive debut Sky Bet League Two campaign with a goal. 

  “This game may be a dead rubber, but it's a dead rubber we want to win. We want to finish the season on a high.”

Darrell Clarke, Port Vale Manager

Mansfield Town

Manager: Nigel Clough

Form: DWWLW

Top Goal Scorer: Jordan Bowery (10 Goals)

Much like the Vale, Nigel Clough’s side will no doubt be eager to end their campaign with three points, and make it back to back wins as they head into the fixture in good form following their 4-1 win over Oldham Athletic.

The Stags will be looking for a similar result this weekend, and aiming to repeat their success from the home fixture against us at the start of the year, with the victory coming as the second game in a seven game unbeaten run.

Three points could see Mansfield finish as high as 15th if Harrogate Town and Stevenage fail to win their games and the Stags emerge victorious at Vale Park.

One to watch: George Lapslie

The 23-year-old midfielder has made a big impression at the Stags since he joined the club on a season-long loan in October.

He has spent the majority of his career at Charlton Athletic, the club where he came through the youth ranks.

He has scored one goal across his 40 appearances for the Addicks so far and was granted a loan move to Clough’s Mansfield side this season.

He has been a shining light in the Stags campaign this season, having scored 9 goals, making him their top-scorer from midfield, and formed a fierce partnership with top scorer Jordan Bowery under Nigel Clough.

Talk:

Darrell Clarke: “This match will give me the opportunity to hand out a couple of starts to members of the squad who perhaps haven't featurd

Nigel Clough: "They [Vale] went on a six or seven game unbeaten run which is unbelievably difficult to do in this league. They are one of those teams thinking next season they can push for that top seven."

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.