Port Vale v Morecambe preview
Port Vale v Morecambe preview: can the Valiants make it six in a row with a home win over Morecambe on Saturday afternoon?
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DISCUSS THIS GAME ON THE DEDICATED FORUM THREADMatch details:
Teams: Port Vale v Morecambe
Competition: League Two
Venue: Vale Park Stadium
Kick-off: Saturday 11th April, 3pm
Form guide:
The Valiants made it five wins in a row and in the process have stepped out of danger at the bottom of the table. They face a Morecambe side who are in decent form at the moment. In their last ten games they have managed five wins, three defeats and two draws.
Port Vale team news:
Not much to report here. Will Darrell Clarke simply keep faith with the same eleven who have recorded five straight wins. It seems only injury would cause any changes. With much maligned strike duo Theo Robinson and Kurtis Guthrie both finding the goal in recent games, Vale will have plenty of confidence ahead of the game.
Possible Starting XI:
Brown – Smith, Legge, Brisley – Worrall, Joyce, Conlon, Oyeleke, Montano – Rodney, Robinson
One to watch:
He’s been seen as injury prone through his Vale career but it’s no coincidence that Vale’s fine form has coincided with Manny Oyeleke’s run of starts. His contract comes up in the summer and the midfielder will be determined to keep his place and confirm his fitness ahead of contract talks.
Opposition manager:
Manager Derek Adams was linked with the vacant Vale job earlier in the season and remains highly rated. He’s been in charge at Morecambe since November 2019 and has a 39 win ratio after 69 games in charge.
Opposition team:
Both of Morecambe’s former Valiants will miss this game through injury. Jordan Slew has a broken fibula while AJ Leitch-Smith has both calf and hamstring injuries. There are no other injuries in the squad. Yann Songo’o and Liam Gibson will both be eligible for selection again after completing their respective suspensions.
Connections:
There’s a couple of former Valiants in the Morecambe ranks. Striker AJ Leitch-Smith finished as the Valiants’ top-scorer in the 2015-16 season before rejecting a new contract and moving on. Striker Jordan Slew had a brief spell on loan in 2014-15 where he scored twice in nine games.
Last time we met:
The game earlier this season ended in a 1-0 win to Morecambe as they won through a late penalty. The two sides last met at Vale Park in 2019 where the Vale won 3-1 thanks to goals from Tom Pope and a rare screamer from midfielder Luke Joyce (pictured). Vale last lost at home to Morecambe back in 2013.
One of the more memorable performances came at Vale Park in April 2011 when the Valiants won 7-2 with two hat-tricks for Louis Dodds and Justin Richards.
Overall, the two sides have met nineteen times with six Vale wins, eight defeats and five draws.