Match Preview: Scunthorpe United (H)

Port Vale will look to bounce straight back to winning ways in the league, when they welcome Scunthorpe United to Vale Park tomorrow evening. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.

Fixture: Port Vale vs Scunthorpe United

Competition: Sky Bet League Two

Date: Tuesday 17th November

Kick-Off: 7:00 pm

Venue: Vale Park

Referee: Leigh Doughty

 

Port Vale

Manager: John Askey

Form: LWWWL

Top Goal Scorer: Pope, Conlon, Cullen, Rodney, Robinson (2 Goals)

The Valiants will be looking to quickly move on from Saturday’s heartbreak against Tranmere Rovers and secure an instant return to winning ways, with three points able to move them into an automatic promotion spot.

Vale have the chance to secure their second win over the Iron so far this season having already picked up a 2-1 win away from home in the Carabao Cup thanks to goals from Zak Mills and Theo Robinson.

John Askey will be without Mills however as he continues his period of self-isolation, and will also miss the suspended Luke Joyce and the injured James Gibbons, but has the rest of his squad available for selection.  

“We’ve done ok, if we get a win Tuesday we go up to third or fourth, so it wouldn’t be a bad position to be in at this stage of the season.”

John Askey, Port Vale Manager

Scunthorpe United

Manager: Neil Cox

Form: LLLLW

Top Goal Scorer: Van Veen, Loft (2 Goals)

The Iron will be looking to keep their form going from the weekend and secure their first back to back wins of the season, as they bid to climb out of the relegation zone.  

Cox’s side have had a tumultuous start to their season, having won just twice all season and are currently sat one point inside the drop zone and just two points above bottom side Southend United so will be eager to turn things around after their win on the road at Oldham.

Abo Eisa was a doubt for the game for is set to be able to feature despite a heavy challenge at the weekend, with the same situation applying to Lewis Spence. However, Aaron Jarvis, George Hornshaw, Harrison McGahey and Frank Vincent are all expected to miss the clash with injures.  

 

One to watch: Kevin Van Veen

Van Veen was the star man for the Iron last season, bagging 15 goals, including the equaliser when they travelled to Vale Park last season, whilst also picking up four assists in last season’s campaign.

The forward had previously represented Scunthorpe back in 2015 when he moved from the Dutch second division where he scored 16 goals in 20 games for FC Oss.

Van Veen found the net twice in his debut season with the Iron before returning to Holland on loan with SC Cambuur where he found his form which he carried in his return to Scunthorpe seeing him score 23 times before leaving to join Northampton Town.

After an impressive spell with the Cobblers, Van Veen was brought back by Scunthorpe where he continued to impress in League Two last season, with the Dutchman remaining a key player for the Iron, netting twice and assisting once so far this season.

 

Talk:

John Askey: “We could always be better but we take each game as it comes, hopefully we get three points on Tuesday and go into Saturday’s game at Newport, which is going to be tough, with plenty of confidence.” 

Neil Cox: “I’ve managed to get some sleep this weekend (off the back of a win), which was good. We’ve done our homework on Port Vale, and we’ve been in and the boys that have needed to train hard on Monday have done.”

 

Coverage:

iFollow The Vale will be providing full 90-minute coverage of the match for all domestic supporters, whilst the Port Vale Twitter and Facebook feeds will be providing live updates for the entirety.

To purchase an iFollow match pass click here.

There will also be the build-up to the game with the official Snapchat and Instagram accounts: @officialpvfc

Reaction will be available on the website post-match, as well as on YouTube, iFollow and our official social media channels.