Sports Mole previews Saturday’s League One clash between Shrewsbury Town and Port Vale, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Port Vale will attempt to end their nine-game winless league run when they travel to New Meadow for Saturday’s clash with Shrewsbury Town.
The hosts, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back after suffering a heavy defeat in their away meeting with Blackpool last weekend.
Match preview
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Due to the international break, Shrewsbury were involved in one of two League One games that took place last weekend.
Unfortunately for Matt Taylor‘s side, their trip to Blackpool proved to be a forgettable experience, as they slumped to a 4-0 loss, which extended their winless away run to eight games across all competitions.
While Shrewsbury remain four points clear of the bottom four, they have now played two more games than Fleetwood Town, who currently occupy 21st place.
Having won just one of their nine away league games, the Shrews will be pleased to return to New Meadow, where they have won five of their last six competitive matches.
They will also take confidence from the fact they claimed a 3-2 home victory over Port Vale when the two sides last met in February.
In contrast to their hosts, Port Vale have had 10 days to prepare for Saturday’s fixture after their home game against Leyton Orient was postponed due to international call-ups.
While the Valiants are winless in nine league games, they managed to pick up an FA Cup victory over Burton Albion in their most recent outing.
After playing out a goalless draw in the initial tie, Port Vale went on to book their place in the second round with a 2-0 win in the replay thanks to goals from Gavin Massey and Lewis Cass.
The Valiants, who occupy the 16th position, will now attempt to record a second straight victory, which would be enough to move them above their opponents, who are currently sitting one place and one point above them in the League One table.
Should they claim all three points, it would represent their first away league win since beating Oxford United 2-1 on September 2.
Shrewsbury Town League One form:
Shrewsbury Town form (all competitions):
Port Vale League One form:
Port Vale form (all competitions):
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Team News
Shrewsbury are still unable to call upon the injured quartet of Kieran Phillips, George Nurse, Ryan Finnigan and Brandon Fleming.
Taylor has revealed midfielder Tom Bayliss is set to be out of action for six to eight weeks after sustaining an ankle injury.
Morgan Feeney is continuing to make progress in his injury recovery, but the defender remains a doubt for Saturday’s contest.
As for the visitors, they are expected to be without Dan Jones, Conor Grant, Mitch Clark, Kofi Balmer, Alex Iacovitti and James Wilson.
Josh Thomas has also been added to Port Vale’s absentee list after he sustained an injury while on international duty with Wales Under-21s.
Although Ollie Arblaster is available after serving a one-match ban, the midfielder may have to settle for a place on the bench.
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Dunkley, Flanagan, Anderson; Bennett, Winchester, Perry, Sraha; Shipley; Bowman, Udoh
Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Ripley; Cass, Ojo, Debrah; Sang, Garrity, Conlon, Plant; Chislett, Devine, Ikpeazu
We say: Shrewsbury Town 3-1 Port Vale
Shrewsbury may have suffered a disappointing defeat in their away meeting with Blackpool, but after winning five of their last six competitive home matches, we think they will get the job done against Port Vale.
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