Match Preview: Southend United (A)

Port Vale have the opportunity to secure a third consecutive victory in the league tomorrow, when they travel to the Roots Hall football stadium to take on Southend United. You can find all of the key information regarding the game, below.

Fixture: Southend United vs Port Vale

Competition: Sky Bet League Two

Date: Saturday 31st October

Kick-Off: 3:00 pm

Venue: Roots Hall

Referee: Tom Nield

 

Port Vale

Manager: John Askey

Form: LWLWW

Top Goal Scorer: Mark Cullen (2 Goals)

The Valiants will be hoping to make it nine points from their last possible nine in the league, and continue their impressive form coming off the back of a comeback win over promotion hopefuls Cheltenham Town at Vale Park earlier in the week.

Goals from Leon Legge and David Worrall meant that the Vale have already had 11 different players find the back of the net this season, with goals coming from all over the pitch.

John Askey has been handed further boosts heading into the game as he has seen all his players able to return to training, besides James Gibbons who will also miss the game as he remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.

“We’re getting to grips with the situation, with no fans and how everything’s been, and getting back to knowing what it takes to win a game.”

 

John Askey, Port Vale Manager

Southend United

Manager: Mark Molesley

Form: DLLLL

Top Goal Scorer: Clifford, Acquash, Ralph, Demetriu, Goodship (1 Goal)

The Shrimpers have had a tumultuous week in the lead up to the game, with chairman Rob Martin having to pay off an outstanding debt in order to fend off a winding up petition from the HMRC.

On the pitch there have been troubles also, with Southend yet to register a win so far this season, leaving them at the bottom of the league table following their most recent home defeat to Oldham Athletic.

David Worrall will return to Roots Hall for the game having spent two years with the Shrimpers, making 84 appearances, netting nine times and assisting 14 times whilst at the club. 

 

One to watch: Kazaiah Sterling

The 21-year old striker is on loan with the Shrimpers from his parent club Tottenham Hotspur, where he has been since the age of 16.

Sterling made his debut for Spurs in 2017, when he came off the bench for Dele Alli in a 3-0 win over Apoeal Nicosia in the Champions League.

Along with representing Tottenham at youth level and in the EFL Trophy, the forward has had a number of loan spells to Sunderland, Doncaster Rovers and Leyton Orient.

The Shrimpers will be hoping their new attacker will be able to get off the mark this weekend and kick-start a run of scoring to help lift them off the foot of the table.

 

Talk:

John Askey: “We’re starting to get to a stage where as a team we know what we need to do to win games, and the improvement from last year is we’re seeing out games better.”

Mark Molesley: "We’ll give them the respect they deserve and make sure we prepare the best we possibly can for them.”

 

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.