Port Vale will look to build on Saturday’s thrilling 6-3 win at Bolton Wanderers, when we take on Wolves U21s in the Papa John’s Trophy, looking to progress to the last-16 of the competition.
Fixture: Port Vale vs Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s
Competition: Papa John’s Trophy
Date: Tuesday 8th December
Kick-Off: 7:00 pm
Venue: Vale Park
Referee: Scott Oldham
Port Vale
Manager: John Askey
Form: LLLLW
Top goalscorer: Theo Robinson & Cristian Montano (4 Goals)
Despite travelling to an in-form Bolton Wanderers side on Saturday, the Valiants put on a stunning performance to earn a 6-3 win at the University of Bolton Stadium, with six different goalscorers getting on the scoresheet.
And John Askey’s side will be hoping to build on that performance with a win against Wolves U21’s in the last-32 of the Papa John’s Trophy, knowing that a win would mean they would be just three wins away from a trip to Wembley.
The Valiants are unbeaten in this season’s Papa John’s Trophy so far after wins in 90 minutes over Wigan Athletic and Liverpool U21’s whilst a penalty shootout was enough to earn two points over Tranmere Rovers back in September.
John Askey has no new injury concerns ahead of the game with Mitch Clark and James Gibbons being the only players unavailable for Tuesday evening’s clash.
“It’s another opportunity to go and win a game and that’s what we will be trying to do.”
Dave Kevan, Port Vale Assistant Manager
Wolves U21
Manager: James Collins
Form: LDW
Top Goal Scorer: Fábio Silva (2 goals)
Wolves U21’s have had a relatively successful campaign in their Papa John’s group-stage journey, earning their place in the last 32 of the competition, after club-record signing Fábio Silva’s brace earned them a 2-1 victory over Doncaster Rovers to secure their progression to the knockout stages for the first time since 2017.
That win was on top of a penalty shootout victory following a 1-1 draw at Bradford City and despite losing their opening game 4-0 at Oldham Athletic, Wolves still progressed to the next stage of the trophy.
However, James Collins will not have Fábio Silva at his dispense following Raúl Jiménez’s injury for the senior team at Arsenal, meaning that the £35m signing is now involved with the first-team playing staff, but first-team players such as John Ruddy and Ki-Jana Hoever could be involved.
One to watch: Ki-Jana Hoever
The former Liverpool defender, who can play both right-back and centre-back, was signed by Wolves in September of this year to bolster their defensive options.
The 18-year-old has played for the Netherlands U15, U16, U17 and now plays for the U18 side.
He started his career at two of the biggest clubs in the Netherlands, starting at AZ Alkmaar, before moving to the world-renowned Ajax academy in 2014, where he stayed for four years.
He then signed for Liverpool in August 2018, making his senior debut in an FA Cup third round tie with Wolves in January 2019.
That performance must have impressed Wolves manager Nuno Espírito Santo, who signed him for the Wanderers this September, where he has made two Premier League appearances for the club so far, as well as being a regular for the U21’s in their Papa John’s Trophy campaign.
Talk:
Dave Kevan: “We’ll be looking to put a strong side out and go as far as we can in the competition.”
Luke Joyce: “The next game is the most important game, and it would be nice to get two wins on the bounce to keep the momentum and the belief going.”
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.