Two minute guide to Crawley Town v Port Vale
Will it be tough for the Valiants to turn around their terrible form without talisman targetman Tom Pope ?
Pre-match newsdesk
So how will Port Vale fare in the absence of top-scorer Tom Pope? It looks like Ricky Miller (right) is favourite to step up after two goals for the reserves but Dan Turner, Louis Dodds and even new signing Danny Elliott are other options.
Vale have added Nottingham Forest defender Adam Crookes to their squad and he could line-up at left-back but Cristian Montano is still a week away from playing.
Quotes
“I have to focus on our team, we have to be positive at Crawley. My fate, my career is in the hands of the players and they have to produce at Crawley. We are not daft, every game now when the team goes out, I feel that my future is in their hands. I would be silly to say otherwise wouldn’t I really because we are not getting results. So, we are all aware of that and I can’t be more honest than that…”
Port Vale manager Neil Aspin
The bookies’ view
“Crawley are firm favourites for this match, and it is not hard to see why due to Port Vale’s poor form.
Vale have not won a match since November, so in many ways it is surprising they are not longer than around 17/10 which they are.
But looking at the markets, three quarters of bets have been on Crawley across the board which explains their price of 6/4 to win.
Bookmakers are convinced that Crawley will be scoring first, as they are odds-on at 10/11 to open the scoring on Saturday.”
Peter Watton, Spokesperson at OddsMonkey
Man in charge
Something of an anomaly of a League Two managerial appointment, Crawley looked beyond the usual suspects and appointed former Italian footballer Gabriele Cioffi as their head coach. He has won seven of his 25 games in charge.
Stats and facts
The two sides have met nine times with Vale ahead courtesy of five wins to three. Vale won the last meeting (a 1-0 home win earlier this season with the winner coming from Luke Hannant, right) but have just one win from four trips to Crawley.
Crossing the lines
There are a large number of players who have played for both clubs in recent years including:
Forward Gavin Tomlin (right)
Striker Tyrone Barnett
Winger Abdulai Bell-Baggie
Striker Callum Willock