Peterborough Utd v Port Vale preview – can in-form Valiants shock Posh?
Peterborough United v Port Vale preview – after two wins against Shrewsbury Town can the Valiants upset a highly rated Peterborough side?
Match Info
Venue: London Road stadium | Date: 24th September 2022, 3pm | Competition: League One
Predict the score
Any other business?
As this match occurs during the International break, fans unable to travel to the game and based in the UK can buy a video pass to watch through the iFollow Port Vale website.
Pre-match quotes
We put out a strong team because we’d lost the first game in the competition and because we wanted to give the players some confidence ahead of an important game on Saturday. We played well. It was a good all-round performance and we will use it get our place rocking at the weekend…
Peterborough manager Grant McCann after the 3-0 midweek win over Spurs U21
We spoke over the past week or two about our style and how we can progress and be effective in League One. We are playing against some big, big clubs but we want to continue to progress the football club, the playing style and we think we can do that by dominating the ball a little bit more than we have been doing…
Port Vale assistant manager Andy Crosby
Port Vale team news
It’s probably one of the most welcome selection questions that Darrell Clarke has had to face for some time. The likes of James Wilson and Ellis Harrison played in the win on Saturday but were able to be rested on Tuesday night while some of Vale’s so-far supporting cast were given the chance to push their claims.
Of the players pushing for a place, hat-trick hero Dennis Politic may still have to settle for a place on the bench but defensive midfielder Brad Walker may be a more likely starter.
There’s plenty of welcome selection questions for Clarke – Worrall or Massey on the right; Conlon or Butterworth as the link man? Forrester or Cass in the back three? Hall or Jones on the left? As usual the manager will keep his cards close to his chest and all will be revealed an hour before kick-off.
Opposition team news
Posh ended a run of six defeats in League and cup with a 3-0 Football League Trophy win over Spurs U21 in midweek. That game also saw the return of left-back Dan Butler who was making his first appearance in more than ten months.
Meet the squad…
- Captain Jonson Clarke-Harris has fifty goals in just 95 appearances.
- Talented forward Jack Marriott joined from Derby County two years ago.
- Defender Nathan Thompson is the club’s vice-captain.
- Chelsea loanee Lucas Bergstrom is the regular goalkeeper
Man in charge
Peterborough have a habit of re-appointing managers and if you count his caretaker spell, Grant McCann is now in his third spell as Posh boss. Reappointed in February he currently has a 36% win ratio.
Familiar faces
The Valiants skipper Tom Conlon made his professional debut for Peterborough United back in 2013 although he only made four more appearances for the club before departing for Stevenage in 2014. The captain now has 145 appearances and eighteen goals for the Valiants.
Face from the past
Stopper Shaun Brisley made nearly a hundred appearances for Peterborough United between 2011 and 2016. He moved to Vale Park in 2019 and made 43 appearances during a two year spell.
Through the years…
The two sides first met in 1961 when it ended in a 1-0 home defeat for the Valiants. However, Vale have a decent record at London Road in recent years having lost just once in the last three meetings. The last player to score for Vale against Posh was striker Alex Jones.
Last time we met…
It wasn’t a great result for the Valiants back in 2017 as they slumped to a 3-0 home defeat.
Overall record
18 Port Vale wins | 16 draws | 17 Port Vale losses
From the archives
In this feature, we leaf through the pages of a 1977 Port Vale programme for a match against Peterborough United.
READ IT HEREA brief history of…
Peterborough United formed in 1934. Having won the Midland League title for five consecutive seasons, they were elected into the Football League in 1960 and immediately won the Fourth Division title in 1960–61. They secured a place in the Championship after manager Darren Ferguson led them to consecutive promotions in 2007–08 and 2008–09 and spent three of the next four seasons in the second tier. They were relegated back into League One in 2013, although they went on to win the Football League Trophy in 2014.
Were you paying attention?
Our traditional quiz…
- Who is the current Peterborough manager?
- What was the score the last time the two teams met?
- In which year were the club formed?
- In what year did they enter the Football League?
Answers below (no cheating)…
- Grant McCann
- Port Vale 0-3 Peterborough
- 1934
- 1960