With our Checkatrade Trophy tie with Stoke City Under-21s just around the corner, we take a closer look at how both sides have fared so far in the cup competition.

Port Vale

Neil Aspin's side boast an impressive record in the Checkatrade Trophy this season, with a perfect three wins out of three in the group stages.

It all started back in October when The Valiants welcomed Burton Albion to Vale Park - a single Ricky Miller goal was enough to secure Aspin's side the three points on the day. The forward was smartly found by Louis Dodds and made no mistake one-on-one with Harry Campbell, dispatching below The Brewers stopper.

Next up was Middlesbrough Under 21s and Vale once again impressed seeing off the young Boro side 2-0. Miller was among the goals again as he latched onto a Tom Conlon pass this time to eventually finish, putting his side one goal to the good. Connell Rawlinson netted Vale's second to maintain their impressive form in the cup.

Finally, it was an away tie to Walsall and the boys made it a perfect three wins out of three overcoming The Saddlers 2-1. Scott Quigley got Vale off to the perfect start, scoring a header in the fourth minute to assert their dominance in the tie, however the home side equalised with merely seconds to go in the first-half, to see both sides head down the tunnel at a stalemate. The winner for Aspin's side came from an unlikely source, as Danny Pugh wriggled his way free inside the opposition area to slot home, securing the win.

Stoke City Under 21s

The Potters on the other hand have just the one win in the competition, with their other two results ending a draw, forcing penalties.

First up for the young Stoke side was an away fixture to Sunderland. There were to be no goals in the cup tie meaning both sides would go to penalties to determine the winner. The Black Cats edged out their visitors 4-2 from penalty kicks - despite the loss, The Potters still picked up a point.

Stoke then claimed their first win in the competition, beating Morecambe 2-1. The Potters struck first through Oliver Shenton as the midfielder cooly swept the ball beyond the onstanding Morecambe stopper. The Shrimps were back on level terms as Jason Oswell headed home from a corner to bring his side back into the tie, however Tyrese Campbell proved the difference, as he smashed in the winner to secure all three points for the travelling Potters.

Carlisle United were their final opponents of the group stages and once again, penalties had to be played to decide the victor on the day. Jack Sowerby had The Cumbrians in the lead, however Campbell was on-hand once again for the visitors as he levelled procedures. The tie eventually went to penalties, and The Potters overcame Carlisle 4-2 - Stoke picking up two points, eventually finishing second in their group behind Sunderland.

Qualification

There will be no extra-time if the tie ends in a draw tomorrow evening. Penalty-kicks will be immediately taken if the scores are level after 90 minutes, with the winner progressing to the round of 16 of the cup competition. The draw for the round of 16 is unseeded.