Match preview: Port Vale v Rochdale (friendly, August 2020)
It’s Port Vale’s fourth friendly of the summer as they take on League One Rochdale in a behind closed doors friendly game.
Match details:
Teams: Port Vale v Rochdale
Venue: Vale Park stadium
Kick-off: Saturday 29th August, 3pm
How to watch
First off, let’s deal with watching this behind closed doors game. The Valiants will be publishing a live stream on their YouTube channel where you can watch the game for free. The link is below:
Form guide
Considering there’s been no warm-up against non-league sides, Vale have done pretty well against higher placed sides. They narrowly lost to Blackpool in their first game but they bounced back to beat Fleetwood in their second game and also defeated Championship side Nottingham Forest 2-1 in midweek.
The Valiants face a tough task against Rochdale who boast a 100% friendly record with wins over Atherton Collieries, Stockport County and Oldham Athletic.
Port Vale team news:
It looks like John Askey’s summer squad building work is complete so don’t expect to see any trialists in the squad this weekend. However, it will be fans’ first chance to see Dino Visser (right), David Fitzpatrick and Theo Robinson in action since they completed permanent moves to the Potteries.
Manny Oyeleke is expected to miss this one as he recovers from injury but Vale are confident that forward Mark Cullen will be fit after picking up a knock in the midweek win over Nottingham Forest.
Opposition team news:
It’s been a summer of change for Rochdale. Out have gone midfielders Callum Camps, Alex Williams and veteran forward Ian Henderson. In have come Chorley midfielder Alex Newby and Man City loan goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
There are still some well-known faces in the Dale side including experienced midfielder Jimmy Ryan, veteran defender Paul McShane and Matt Lund who has rejoined Rochdale for a second spell.
Connections
After the departure of Rochdale forward Calvin Andrew from Rochdale and Port Vale utility man Will Atkinson (right) at the end of the season, there are no players in either squads who have played for both clubs.
Pre-match quote:
I am really happy to be part of the family and get the deal over the line, and am looking forward to the season ahead. It’s got a great history, it’s a fantastic club, it’s ambitious, it’s everything a player wants to be part of really…
Recent signing Dino Visser is feeling positive
Last time we met:
The last time the two sides met competitively was in League One back in April 2016 when Rochdale won 3-0 at Spotland. The Valiants won the match at Vale Park 1-0 thanks to a goal from defender Nathan Smith (pictured right)