Port Vale will look to turn around recent league form and kickstart a strong end to the year, when they travel to the University of Bolton Stadium to take on Bolton Wanderers. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.
Fixture: Port Vale vs Bolton Wanderers
Competition: Sky Bet League Two
Date: Saturday 5th December
Kick-Off: 3:00 pm
Venue: University of Bolton Stadium
Referee: Carl Boyeson
Port Vale
Manager: John Askey
Form: LLLLL
Top Goal Scorer: Rodney (3 Goals)
The Valiants have had a week free of fixtures, meaning the players have had longer to recover and the team has been able to spend more time in preparation for the trip to the Trotters as looking to turn recent form around.
Vale have the chance to secure their first ever league win away at Bolton, with three points able to see the Valiants rise up to five places in the league table should results go their way.
John Askey will be without both David Amoo and Danny Whitehead for the game as they join James Gibbons on the sideline, but other than that the gaffer has a fully fit squad to choose from.
“We’re creating chances, we need to start to get on the end of one or two more, so there’s lots to work on.”
John Askey, Port Vale Manager
Bolton Wanderers
Manager: Ian Evatt
Form: DWWWW
Top Goal Scorer: Doyle, Delfouneso (6 Goals)
Bolton had a difficult start to life in League Two following their relegation from League One last season, but have turned things around and are now one of the form teams in the division.
The Trotters are unbeaten in their last five games in the league and have won their last five in all competitions, form which has seen them climb into the top 10 and the potential to move into a Play-Off spot with another three points.
Ian Evatt will be missing Andrew Tutte for the fixture after he was ruled out for the rest of the year following an injury in their last fixture, joining Harry Brockbank, Liam Edwards and Shaun Miller on the injury list for the game, with Ali Crawford also a doubt for the match.
One to watch: Eoin Doyle
The experienced Irish forward spent the early years of his career in Ireland, representing sides like Shelbourne and Sligo Rovers before joining Scottish side Hibernian in 2011.
After two years in Scotland he moved to England where he represented Chesterfield, before he earnt a move to Cardiff City. After struggling for game time he was loaned out to Preston North End where he shone and gained a permanent swap.
His next moves were to Portsmouth and Oldham Athletic on loan, before signing for Bradford City in 2018 and after one season with the Bantams, Doyle was loaned to Swindon where he took the league by storm, scoring 26 times in 29 games with a brief return to Bradford in the middle of the season.
In the summer he was brought in by Bolton as one of the signings of the summer for League Two, and has continued his incredible goal scoring form with the Wanderers, netting six times and assisting twice in his 14 games played so far.
Talk:
John Askey: “Bolton have got decent players so it was only a matter of time before they started to win games and be in the top half, we’d expect them to be up there at the end of the season.”
Ian Evatt: “People look at Port Vale’s run of form and look at our run of form and think it’s a given. It isn’t a given, it’s going to be a tough game and we’re more than focused and ready for the opportunity.”
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.