Vale remain on the road this Saturday, after their dominating 4-0 win away at Shrewsbury Town in the Papa Johns Trophy on Tuesday, with a trip to Peterborough United next on the agenda.
This weekend’s hosts also enjoyed a victory in the Papa John’s Trophy in midweek, with a 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur’s U21 side.
Despite their win in midweek, the Posh’s league form has been poor of late as they have lost their last four, and Vale will be hoping to add to that streak whilst increasing their unbeaten run.
Here is some interesting pre-match reading before the Valiants travel down to Cambridgeshire to face Peterborough.
The view from Darrell Clarke:
Darrell Clarke said: “League One is a tough division, there are some teams up there that are miles ahead in infrastructure and budget obviously, but that gives you a great appetite to compete against those teams.
“We’ve got some tough tests coming up, but we look no further than Saturday’s game against Peterborough.”
Opposition’s Boss thoughts
“Port Vale have enjoyed a good run of form and they have the ability to mix things up in terms of the way that they play,” said Grant McCann.
“They have good players in key areas of the pitch, but we need to focus on ourselves.
“We are at home; we have three out of the next four at home and that gives us an opportunity to hopefully get the results we need to move up the table.”
Fixture Flashback:
Sky Bet League One, Weston Homes Stadium, Saturday 12th March 2016: Peterborough United 2-3 Port Vale
We go back six years to the last time we beat the Posh at the Weston Homes Stadium, a brilliant second-half 3-2 comeback win.
Strikes from Byron Moore, JJ Hooper, and Louis Dodds completed the stunning turnaround after the break to ensure Vale kept their Play-Off challenge on track.
However, the game didn’t start the way the Valiants would have wanted as they fell behind after just 75 seconds when John Taylor fired the Posh ahead.
The hosts then doubled their lead just before the interval through Aaron Williams when he slammed home from the edge of the area.
After the break, Vale came out a different side, and within four minutes of the second period, they clawed one back when Moore controlled a Sam Foley cut back and finished expertly.
Then came the final four minutes of madness, and it was Hooper who managed to bring the visitors level through a glancing header from a Ryan McGivern cross from the left wing.
In the 89th minute, pandemonium ensued when Dodds fired home a dramatic winner for the Valiants via a deflection, which sent the shot looping over Stuart Moore.
The game started at a quick pace, with the Posh setting the pace through their opening goal and some other chances early on.
One of those chances came moments after the hosts had taken the lead, as Williams came close to doubling it, but after taking a good touch from a cross, he fired wide on the volley.
Chris Forrester also wasted a good opportunity to add to the hosts tally, but he fired wide from the edge of the box after being set up by a quick Williams attack.
Midway through the first period, Vale were forced into a change with the injured Ryan Inniss replaced by McGivern.
In the second half, Vale turned it on, and after getting one back they should have got another through Byron Moore, but he squandered a clear chance to level on 72 minutes.
Then came the crazy ending, and thanks to the Valiants' brilliant final few minutes, they kept themselves in the Play-Off fight, but ultimately the task proved too tough, and Vale finished the season in 12th, one place above the Posh.
Peterborough United | Moore, Smith, Baldwin, Taylor, Bostwick, Maddison, Gillett, Nichols (73’ Angol), Forrester (77’Nabi), Williams (80’Nicholson), Toffolo
Unused subs | Henry, Zakuani, Oztumer, Coulthirst
Port Vale | Neal, Purkiss, Dickinson, Duffy, O'Connor, Dodds, Foley, Moore, Robinson (65’ Hooper) Inniss (34’ McGivern), Grant
Unused subs | Alnwick, McGivern, Birchall, Kennedy, Brown, Kelly
Last Time Out (League):
Sky Bet League One, University of Bolton Stadium, Saturday 17th September 2022: Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Peterborough United
Dapo Afolayan's deflected strike just four minutes from time condemned the Posh to their fourth straight league defeat.
Substitute Afolayan saw his effort take a huge deflection to loop past the stranded Peterborough goalkeeper Lucas Bergström.
Peterborough started the match the better side and came very close to taking the lead when a low cross from Nathan Thompson was taken off the toe of Ben Thompson, as he was loitering on the 12-yard mark waiting to pounce.
However, ten minutes after that chance, Wanderers recovered from their poor start and thought they had taken the lead through George Thompson, but the referee had blown for a foul in the box.
The Trotters then started to take control of proceedings, and they hit the post in first-half stoppage time when Gethin Jones saw his header hit the woodwork.
Bergström then became the star of the show in the second period, producing a string of brilliant saves, including one from Dion Charles when he looked certain to score on the counter.
However, despite the keeper's amazing display, there was nothing he could do about the Bolton winner, and Peterborough will now be looking to get back on track when they face us on Saturday.
Ins and Outs:
Arrivals:
The Posh have brought in seven signings following their relegation from the Championship, as they looked to bolster their squad over the summer to help them push for promotion.
One of those signings being Lucas Bergstöm, who has joined Peterborough on loan from Chelsea, and so far, he has shown his quality with impressive performances against the likes of Bolton Wanderers.
Another strong signing for this weekend’s hosts is that of young defensive midfielder Hector Kyprianou who has made the switch from League Two side Leyton Orient.
All arrivals | Ben Thompson, Ephron Mason-Clark, David Ajiboye, Hector Kyprianou, Harvey Cartwright, Kell Watts, Lucas Bergström
Departures:
Whilst the Posh made a few signings this summer, 10 people also left the door down in Cambridgeshire.
One of those being former fan favourite Sammie Szmodics who moved up north to Lancashire to sign for Championship side Blackburn Rovers.
Peterborough also lost midfielder Jorge Grant who spent just one season at the club after his move from Lincoln City in 2021, he now plays for Hearts of Midlothian in Scotland.
All Departures | David Cornell, Kyle Barker, Serhat Tasdemir, Kobe Jae Chong, Sammie Szmodics, Ryan Broom, Mark Beevers, Jorge Grant, Idris Kanu, Christy Pym
Team news:
Oliver Norburn will miss out on Saturday due to a long-term injury and Harvey Cartwright, who signed in the summer, will also be unavailable and could face the next three to four weeks out.
Kell Watts, who also signed in the summer transfer window, is close to a return after a knee injury has kept him sidelined, but the fixture may come too soon for the defender.
The hosts will also be without youngsters Ronnie Edwards and Joe Taylor who are currently both away on international duty for the U20 and U21 sides for England and Wales respectively.
Form: LLLLW
30/08/22: Peterborough United 1-2 Stevenage, Papa John’s Trophy
03/08/22: Portsmouth 2-1 Peterborough United, Sky Bet League One
13/09/22: Peterborough United 0-1 Fleetwood Town, Sky Bet League One
17/09/22: Bolton Wanderers 1-0Peterborough United, Sky Bet League One
20/09/22: Peterborough United 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur U21, Papa John’s Trophy