Vale return to action this Tuesday night with a trip to Barnsley in South Yorkshire, the Valiants first away match since the win away at Burton Albion.
Barnsley have had a mixed season so far, and they currently sit in the 10th whilst Vale sit in 17th place on eight points.
Here is some interesting pre-match reading for the fascinating midweek clash.
The view from Darrell Clarke:
“They’re adaptable at times, they like to play with a back three or five with two up top and one in the ten or it can be a 3-4-3 with different variations,” said Darrell Clarke
“They’ve had a good start and Michael Duff has done great, he did a fantastic job at Cheltenham, and it looks like he’s carrying that on at Barnsley.”
Opposition’s Boss thoughts
Michael Duff on the Valiants and their preparations, “They've had a good start. They're on eight points already, and probably should be on ten, they deserved to beat Cheltenham in my opinion.
"They went on a great run to get into the play-offs, obviously carried that momentum to win the play-offs and they've carried that on again this season.
"We had an in-house game on Saturday because some players still need minutes.”
Fixture Flashback:
Sky Bet League One, Oakwell, Saturday 14th November 2015: Barnsley 1-2 Port Vale
It has been nearly seven years since Vale last travelled up to South Yorkshire to face Barnsley, but they have happy memories of their last visit, coming out 2-1 winners.
Goals either side of half-time from Ajay Leitch-Smith and Sam Foley sent the Valiants on their way to victory, meaning Barnsley suffered eight straight defeats at the time.
Leitch-Smith opened the scoring for the visitors five minutes before the break, rising highest in the box to head home a looping cross.
The Valiants doubled their lead under two minutes into the second period through Foley who finished into the top corner after great work from Byron Moore on the right-hand side to set him up.
Barnsley managed to net a consolation goal when Sam Winnall came off the bench to finish low after Vale failed to clear their lines.
The Tykes did start the match the better side and could have taken the lead through chances from Adam Hammill and George Smith, but the scores stayed level.
After all the goals, the Reds put a lot of pressure on the Vale goal, but to no avail, and the Valiants held on to come away from Yorkshire with the three points.
Despite their poor start and awful form during this point of the season, Barnsley managed to rally and gain promotion via the play-offs, after an amazing end to the campaign.
Vale also managed a respectable finish, ending the 2015/16 season in 12th.
Barnsley | Davies, Bree, Mawson, Nyatanga, Smith, Isgrove (62’ Smith), Pearson, Hourihane, Hammill, Watkins, Toney (55’ Winnall)
Unused Subs | Roberts, Jackson, Townsend, Maris, Abbott
Port Vale | Alnwick, Yates, Duffy, McGivern, Dickenson, Moore, O’Connor, Grant, Foley (80’ Daniel), Dodds, Leitch-Smith (68’ Ikpeazu)
Unused Subs | Neal, Streete, Birchall, Hooper, Kelly
Last Time Out (League):
Sky Bet League One, Hillsborough, Saturday 3rd September 2022: Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Barnsley
Barnsley’s last game was a big one, a South Yorkshire derby against Sheffield Wednesday, and thanks to goals from Devante Cole and James Norwood, the Tykes came out on top.
The visitors struck in the 34th minute through Cole after the home side failed to clear their lines and the striker nipped into slot the ball past David Stockdale.
Norwood then netted their second 15 minutes from time, thumping home a near post header from Luca Connell’s corner after coming on just minutes earlier.
The Reds started the match the better side, and before the opening goal, both Liam Kitching and Cole came close with both their chances just going past the post.
However, Wednesday came out of the traps quickly after the break and came close to equalising through Lee Gregory, but his control let him down when receiving Barry Bannan’s wicked ball.
In a wild few minutes of football, there were good chances for both sides, with Luke Thomas hitting the bar from 25-yards for the visitors, and Gregory wasting another chance for the hosts when through on goal.
Barnsley did manage to regain control of proceedings though, and Jack Aitchison did come close just before their second, with his low drive forcing a good save from Stockdale.
Ins and Outs:
Arrivals:
The Yorkshire side has brought in plenty of reinforcements this summer after last year’s relegation, bringing in a total of 11 players.
One of those players is James Norwood from fellow Sky Bet League One side Ipswich Town, and he comes in to bolster the Reds' attacking line after they lost some key strikers in that area.
Another notable signing for the Tykes is Nicky Cadden, who arrived in Yorkshire this summer after a successful spell with Forest Green Rovers, helping them to the Sky Bet League Two title last campaign.
All arrivals | Conor McCarthy, Robbie Cundy, Nicky Cadden, Jamie Searle, Luca Connell, James Norwood, Adam Phillips, Tom Edwards, Josh Martin, Slobodan Tedic, Ziyad Larkeche
Departures:
It was also a big window in terms of departures for the Reds in the summer, with many key players leaving after the club’s relegation.
Two of those players were key forwards for the club, with Cauley Woodrow and their top goal scorer for last season, Carlton Morris, both leaving for Luton Town.
Key players such as Michal Helik, Callum Brittain, and Callum Styles have also all left for Championship football, leaving for Huddersfield Town, Blackburn Rovers, and Millwall respectively.
All Departures | Carlton Morris, Romal Palmer, Aapo Halme, Victor Adeboyejo, George Miller, Michal Helik, Cauley Woodrow, Callum Brittain, Isaac Christie-Davies, Patrick Schmidt, Callum Styles, Aaron Leya Isaka, Clarke Oduor, Daniel Jinadu
Team news:
It looks like summer signing Cadden is the only player absent for Barnsley, with the wing-back currently in conditioning.
Form: LLDLW
20/08/22: Barnsley 0-3 Wycombe Wanderers, Sky Bet League One
24/08/22: Leeds United 3-1 Barnsley, Carabao Cup Second Round
27/08/22: Ipswich Town 2-2 Barnsley, Sky Bet League One
30/08/22: Barnsley 0-3 Lincoln City, Papa John’s Trophy Group Stage
03/09/22: Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Barnsley, Sky Bet League One