Rotherham United vs Port Vale Predictions, Lineups and Betting Tips Predictions

Rotherham United vs Port Vale Predictions, Lineups and Betting Tips

Match Details: August 2nd, 2025 | The ASSEAL New York Stadium, Rotherham | Sky Bet League One

EFL Football makes its long awaited return this weekend, as the first competitive kick of a ball launches the start of the 2025/26. After Luton Town face Wimbledon in the season opener on Friday, 20 sides will break their duck the very next day, including Rotherham United, who will host Port Vale.

Following relegation in 2024, Rotherham know their attempt to bounce straight back up to the Championship was below par last season - they will be looking to make a strong start to the new campaign in order to underline their promotion credentials.

Key Betting Tip: Rotherham to Win at odds of 2.10 on Highbet present excellent value for the tip provided by our in-house tipsters.

Rotherham United vs Port Vale Predicted Lineups

Rotherham United Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Cameron Dawson (GK); Joe Rafferty, Sean Raggett, Zak Jules; Reece James, Joe Powell, Liam Kelly, Denzel Hall; Kian Spence; Sam Nombe, Jordan Hugill.

Bringing in some much needed reinforcements, Rotherham’s pre-season goal is likely to finish in and around the play-off places, as they lack just that little bit of quality to earn automatic promotion back to the Championship.

Denzel Hall, Lenny Agbaire, Dru Yearwood, Josh Benson and Kian Spence will all likely be in the matchday squad, and although a couple of these names still boast little experience, there is no denying their talent - it will be interesting to see how they adjust the third tier football across the season.

Port Vale Predicted XI (4-4-2): Ben Amos (GK); Kyle John, Cameron Humphreys, Ben Heneghan, Jordan Gabriel; Liam Gordon, Ben Garrity, James Plant, Mitchell Clark; Lorent Tolaj, Jayden Stockley.

Shifting away from the adventurous 3-1-4-2 lineup that saw them promoted from League Two last season, Port Vale must ensure things remain tight at the back in the opening weeks of the season - just one heavy defeat could see any morale built up in pre-season vanish, and if a newly-promoted side loses confidence, it is typically very hard to get it back.

A number of new signings will likely make their competitive debut here - Liam Gordon, Ben Waine, and Cameron Humphreys are in line to don the Vale shirt for the first time, with Humphreys potentially opening his account for the club against the side he left earlier this summer.

Rotherham United vs Port Vale Current League Standings

With the league season starting this coming Friday, no games have yet been played, with competing sides busy preparing through pre-season friendlies. As a result, no sides have earned any points yet, leaving them all tied on zero points.

Rotherham United vs Port Vale Head to Head Timeline

Though meetings between the two have been few and far between in recent seasons, Port Vale and Rotherham have gone head to head 10 times since 2010, with Port Vale holding a surprise 6-3 record across these games.

Recent Head to Head Meetings:

• 10/08/2022: Port Vale 1-2 Rotherham United.
• 30/11/2021: Rotherham United p1-1 Port Vale.
• 21/04/2014: Rotherham United 1-0 Port Vale.
• 29/12/2013: Port Vale 2-0 Rotherham United.
• 26/12/2012: Rotherham United 1-2 Port Vale.

Port Vale haven’t won in this fixture since 2013 - on that occasion, goals from Louis Dodds and Gavin Tomlin were enough to grab a deserved 2-0 win in League Two.

However, Rotherham have held the recent dominance, winning all of the last three clashes. However, this fixture provides historically close games - all of these three Rotherham victories were claimed with one goal margins, or on one occasion, penalties.

Rotherham United vs Port Vale Recent Match Analysis

Rotherham United Last Five Games:

• Rotherham United 0-5 Sheffield United (Club Friendly)
• Rotherham United 2-1 Peterborough United (League One)
• Stevenage 1-1 Rotherham United (League One)
• Wigan Athletic 1-0 Rotherham United (League One)
• Rotherham United 3-3 Mansfield Town (League One)

Failing to win four of their last five league games last season, it seemed Rotherham had given up on promotion in the final gameweeks. Though this was understandable given the points difference between themselves and Leyton Orient, who claimed the last play-off spot, no fan likes to see their sides give up the ghost - stringing some wins together at the end of last season could in fact have helped build a healthy platform ahead of the new season.

Even so, Rotherham’s recruitment has certainly strengthened their squad this season. They may have lost 5-0 in a pre-season friendly, but these lineups are almost always experimental - should Rotherham play their strongest XI, they will be favourites for this one.

Port Vale Last Five Games:

• Port Vale 0-2 Birmingham City (Club Friendly)
• Port Vale 0-1 Gillingham (League Two)
• Wimbledon 0-2 Port Vale (League Two)
• Port Vale 2-2 Grimsby Town (League Two)
• Carlisle United 3-2 Port Vale (League Two)

After a fabulous campaign saw them claim second in League Two, clutching automatic promotion in the process, Port Vale immediately reinstated themselves as a third tier side after just one season in League Two, and this season, they will have their sights on maintaining that status.

While they took their foot off the gas at the end of last season, that was to be expected for a side that had already clinched promotion, and while they lost their club friendly to Birmingham City, their opponents are now a Championship level side. Port Vale kept the fixture competitive with a rotated eleven, an excellent sign for the season ahead.

Rotherham United vs Port Vale Prediction

Our advanced algorithm has analyzed over 200 data points to predict that Rotherham United will win their season opener - a newly promoted side, Port Vale will struggle to adapt to the intensity of the third tier, something that Rotherham will be able to capitalize on - they should win and keep a clean sheet here, grabbing a deserved 2-0 victory. The model factors in current form, head to head records, player availability and tactical matchups.

Rotherham United vs Port Vale Betting Tip

Football Park’s Best Bet: Rotherham United to Win - Rotherham United will win their season opener - last seasons form and the improvements made over the summer play into their hands, and only relegated from the Championship in 2024, they still have plenty of secon tier quality players in their ranks

Players to Watch: Rotherham United vs Port Vale

Joe Powell (Rotherham United): Rotherham’s prime realtor last season, Joe Powell is expected to keep his place in the starting eleven in spite of the Millers’ recent arrivals. Teeing up his teammates on 10 occasions last season, Powell has an eye for a defence-splitting pass, and while his scoring instinct could use some improvement, having a player who can contribute to 10 a season is huge bones nonetheless.

Lorent Tolaj (Port Vale): Top scorer for Port Vale last season, the Swiss youngster made an excellent impression upon his football league last season. Finding the net 15 times and setting up a further nine goals, the 23-year-old showed his adaptability as a forward, and displayed his ability to create as well as to finish.

Stadium Details: Rotherham’s home ground, the ASSEAL New York Stadium is a superb third tier facility. Built in 2012, the stadium still boasts up to date facilities and facilities, and when full, can hold over 12 ‘000 people.