Port Vale v Bolton Wanderers preview – can Vale maintain 100% home League record?
Port Vale v Bolton Wanderers preview: can the Valiants record another home victory in League One?
Match Info
Venue: Vale Park stadium | Date: 13th August 2022, 3pm | Competition: League One
Predict the score
Team news
Team newsPort Vale are expected to be missing striker James Wilson who picked up an injury in pre-season. However, this week’s new signings Elliott Harrison and Jack Stevens could both be in contention along with Gavin Massey, impressive off the bench in midweek.
New arrivals for visitors Bolton include former Cambridge Utd defender Jack Iredale, teenage Man City goalkeeper Jack Trafford on loan, Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley on loan and Derry City defender Eoin Toal. Their League One campaign started with a 1-1 away draw at Ipswich Town.
Man in charge
Ian Evatt was appointed Wanderers boss in 2020 after a spell managing Barrow. He took the club to promotion to League One in 2021.
Pre-match quotes
Throw into that (opening run) Port Vale, which is not a nice place to go and they have just been promoted so are used to winning games. It is a really tough start but it is a good test for us and where we are at…
Bolton manager Ian Evatt
It is a very big pitch, but when I played there last we won so hopefully we can win again. I think it’s borderline illegal! I think it actually is, it’s that big! It’ll probably suit us because we like playing out from the back, but it’s huge…
Bolton midfielder Aaron Morley
Familiar faces
Familiar facesThere’s only one player in the Valiants squad who has also represented Bolton – although the link is pretty tenuous. Midfielder Harry Charsley spent a loan spell with Bolton back in 2017 and made just the one appearance for the Trotters in a loss against Brentford.
Face from the past
It’s a fairly obvious one, but forward Dennis Politic earned cult status during his spell with the Valiants last season. Seen as something of a “supersub” he scored five times in sixteen appearances.
Through the years…
Through the years…The first game between the two sides was in 1899 and Vale had to wait until 1988 to record their first competitive win. They obviously enjoyed it so much they repeated it again the same year. The last time Bolton visited Vale Park was back in 2021 when it finished 1-0 to the visitors. You have to go back to 1996 for the last Vale goalscorer in a home league fixture. That man was striker Tony Naylor.
Last time we met…
The two sides met in the Football League Trophy in 2021. It finished in a 3-2 win for Wanderers with Tom Conlon and David Amoo on the mark for the Valiants.
Overall record
3 Port Vale wins | 10 draws | 26 Port Vale losses
From the archives
A brief history of…
Formed as Christ Church Football Club in 1874, Bolton Wanderers adopted their current name in 1877 and were a founder member of the Football League in 1888. The period before and after WW1 is regarded as the club’s finest as they challenged in the top division. Over the years Wanderers have won four FA Cups and two League Cups.
Were you paying attention?
Were you paying attention?Our traditional quiz on our Port Vale v Bolton Wanderers preview:
- Who is the current Bolton manager?
- What was the score the last time the two teams met?
- Which current Port Vale midfielder had a brief Bolton spell?
- In what year were Bolton formed?
Answers below (no cheating)…
- Ian Evatt
- Bolton 3-2 Port Vale
- Harry Charsley
- 1874
