The Valiants are back on home soil this Sunday for our third fixture of the week as we welcome Wigan Athletic to Vale Park.
Jon Brady’s side comes into this weekend’s clash following an impressive 3-1 away win at Peterborough United on Thursday. Ryan Croasdale opened the scoring before Ethon Archer scored two unbelievable free kicks to ensure Vale left Cambridgeshire with all three points.
Post Peterborough Thoughts
The Gaffer's immediate reaction to Thursday’s win:
“Good performance overall, a special mention for the whole team for the way they were and the way they worked and the way they worked off the ball”.
Our Opponents
Wigan were a staple in the Premier League throughout the early 2000’s before their relegation to the Championship in 2013. Even though they did get relegated during this season, the Latics famously beat Manchester City at Wembley to lift the FA Cup thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Ben Watson.
This is Wigan’s third successive season in League One and they currently sit above Vale in thirteenth place. Wigan didn't have a great start to the season, winning only three of their opening eight matches, and have carried on that inconsistent form throughout their season. January and February were tough months for the Latics as they only managed to pick up eight points from a possible thirty-three. They come into Sunday’s game off the back of a 3-0 home win over Rotherham United.
The Opposition Dugout
Former Wigan player Gary Caldwell is the man in the hot seat at The Brick Community Stadium. Caldwell was appointed manager in February this year following the sacking of Ryan Lowe. Gary has taken charge of thirteen matches since his arrival, managing to win seven of those games, leaving him with a 54%-win percentage to this point.
This is the 44-year-old's second spell as Wigan manager after he spent sixteen months in charge back in 2015. Since then, Caldwell has had spells at Chesterfield, Partick Thistle and most recently Exeter City before returning to the Latics.
Player to Watch
A player for Vale fans to keep an eye out for is striker, Joe Taylor. Taylor is currently Wigan's top scorer in the league with an impressive eleven goals from nineteen games. The Welshman joined Wigan in January on loan from fellow League One side Huddersfield Town and is one goal away from equalling his best scoring season in professional football.
Fixture Throwback
Port Vale 3-2 Wigan Athletic, 16th December 2023
The last time these two sides met at Vale Park, it was the Valiants who came out on top in a five-goal thriller thanks to a hat-trick from Ethan Chislett.
Chislett opened the scoring with just over twenty minutes after he smartly diverted a Gavin Massey cross into the back of the net.
The South African would go on to double his tally on the stroke of half-time. This time it was Ollie Arblaster who was causing the Wigan defence issues as he jinxed through a couple of challenges before playing a smart ball to Chislett, who made no mistake and fired Vale into a two-goal lead.
However, the Latics would hit back in the second half and scored two goals fifteen minutes apart to level the scores. The first goal came through Chris Sze before Charlie Wyke scored in front of the travelling Wigan supporters.
The action wasn’t finished there, though, as Chislett would go on to grab his and Vale’s third and final goal of the game shortly after. Vale’s former number ten won the ball back on the halfway line and made a darting run towards goal. With options limited, Chislett let fly from eighteen yards out and found the back of the net, looping the ball over the goalkeeper.