Port Vale vs Wrexham Prediction

It is back-to-back home action for Port Vale as Wrexham will make the journey to Vale Park for the third round of the Football League Trophy. Extending their unbeaten streak to five games, Port Vale will hope they can bring their league form into the their trophy campaign. Hunting their third promotion in three seasons, Wrexham come into this game off the back of a victory against Crawley Town. This game provides Wrexham with the opportunity to redeem themselves after they suffered defeat to Port Vale already in the Football League Trophy in the group stages.

Key Stats

• Wrexham come into this game with two wins for their last five while Port Vale are unbeaten from their last five games
• Port vale come into this game off back to back red card game
• Port Vale have scored seven goals from their last five while Wrexham have managed six

Team Previews, Form and Standout Players

The Valiants approach this game in spectacular form in their recent matches, collecting three wins from their last five games. After seeing relegation down to League Two last season, the Stoke-on-Trent based side have performed decent and are closing in on a promotion playoff spot. Undefeated so far in tournament, can Port Vale continue their quest for glory in this competition.

Wrexham have been outstanding yet again for the third season running as they have their sights set on the trophy as well as promotion to the Championship. A defensive master class so far in the league this season for the Red Dragons, ranking second overall in least goals conceded while collecting nine clean sheets from 18 games. After being bested once already in the tournament by Port Vale, with a terrible penalty shoot-out performance for Wrexham, will they be able defeat the team in the lower league this time around.

Port Vale Preview

Formation: 3-5-2

Predicted Line-Up: Amos; Hall, Smith, John; Headley, Garrity, Harper, Croasdale, Clark; Stockley, Tolaj

It is the second game in a row Port Vale have suffered a red card, with this one coming at the hands of defender Tom Sang, who only saw the field for 13 minutes. The League Two side are performing well in the Football League Trophy, going unbeaten through the group stage and left it late in their fourth round match against Doncaster after a 90+2 winner through Rekeem Harper. With the need to return to League One on top of the want for the Football League Trophy glory, Darren Moore needs to ensure his players can keep their fitness and ensure success in both the league and the trophy become a reality.

Wrexham Preview

Formation: 3-4-1-2

Predicted Line-Up: Okonkwo; Brunt, O’Connor, Cleworth; McLean, James, Dobson, Forde; Lee; Faal, Smith

Wrexham left it late in their last game, picking up a win with the last kick of the game from star midfielder Elliot Lee. The Englishman has been fantastic all season long , picking up goal number seven in the league. Wrexham have performed well in the Football League Trophy however in some of their games they have lacked the prolificness they have managed in the league, with only three shots on target from 14 attempts in their last game against Crewe Alexandra. Phil Parkinson has plenty of attacking options in his backroom and they need to find their best partnership to ensure better quality up top.

Head to Head Stats

These two have already faced off in this tournament this season with it ending 1-1 after ninety minutes with a 3-1 penalty shootout win for Port Vale. Last seasons tournament saw Wrexham the victors after two late goals from Paul Mullin and James McClean capped off a poor performance for the Red Dragons.

Betting Tips

Wrexham are clearly the side with the higher quality however, Port Vale have already surprised them once this season and with the form they are in, it is possible for them to cause another upset victory.

For this reason, our betting experts suggest Over 2.5 goals is the best value tip for this game. With odds at 5/6, a bet of £10 could see a return of up to £18.40

(odds subject to change)

Final Prediction: Port Vale vs Wrexham

Port Vale 1-2 Wrexham