Port Vale host Shrewsbury Town in the Third Round of the Checkatrade Trophy this evening and you can find all of the key information ahead of the tie, below.
Fixture: Port Vale vs Shrewsbury Town
Competition: Checkatrade Trophy
Date: Tuesday 8th January 2019
Kick-Off: 19:45
Venue: Vale Park
Referee: Eddie Ilderton
Port Vale
Form: LLWWDDDLLD
League Position: 19th
Top Scorer: Tom Pope (10 goals)
Port Vale will be looking to end a run of six games without a win in all competitions this evening as they welcome Shrewsbury Town to Vale Park. The Valiants boast an impressive record in the Checkatrade Trophy so far with a perfect four wins out of four, most recently a 4-0 win over Stoke City Under-21s.
Vale will want to kick on from a positive result on New Year’s Day against table-topping Lincoln City, where they picked up a draw thanks to a last-minute Manny Oyeleke screamer.
The Imps took the lead in the 58th minute through Shay McCartan and looked to have the points wrapped up with merely seconds to play of regular time, however, Oyeleke took aim from 25-yards to arrow a strike into top-left corner to secure Neil Aspin’s side a point at Sincil Bank.
Aspin could be without the services of centre-back Connell Rawlinson this evening as the defender missed Vale’s last outing to Lincoln City with a heel problem, however, Dior Angus will be in contention for a start having returned from his loan away from the club, last week.
Shrewsbury Town
Form: WWWLDWLDDD
League Position: 16th
Top Scorer: Oliver Norburn/Fejiri Okenabirhie (7 goals)
The Shrews are now five games without a win in all competitions, following three consecutive draws, most recently with Championship outfit, Stoke City. The Potters forced a replay against Shrewsbury as Peter Crouch found a late equaliser in the FA Cup tie.
Sam Ricketts’ side also maintain a 100% record in the cup competition with a perfect four wins out of four, having beaten Walsall last time out in the Second Round.
Ahead of the tie, The Shrews have brought back former midfielder Dave Edwards to Montgomery Waters Meadow having signed from Reading where he failed to make an appearance this season.
One to watch: Greg Docherty
22-year-old midfielder who wears the number eight for Shrewsbury Town. Docherty’s senior career began in Scotland where he represented Hamilton Academical. He signed his first professional contract with club having been with The Accies since the age of nine.
Docherty then made the move to Rangers in 2018, though was immediately loaned to Shrewsbury Town in August.
The midfielder has contributed six goals and five assists so far this season and has proved pivotal in Shrewsbury’s fight for League One survival having disappointed in the opening weeks of the season.
Talk
Danny Pugh: "It's a big game, it's a game we want to win. I think early on in the competition I think people take it quite lightly. I'm not saying we have but I think a lot of other clubs do, but the further you go on in the competition, yes we're in a good position now with a great result in the last round and we want to win the game.”
Sam Ricketts: “We can expect a tough game. They have a few good players in fairness. It won’t be an easy game for us, especially going to their place – it will make it tougher for us. They will be really keen for it as will we. We will just be worried about us and we will go there to win the game. I really want to do well in this competition. You can’t hide what getting to Wembley means for the supports and players.”
Coverage
Follow The Vale will be providing full 90 minute commentary from the match, while the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feed will be providing live updates for the entirety.
There will also be build-up to the game with the official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: officialpvfc.
Reaction will be available on the official website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and social media.