The Valiants make the short trip down the A50, as they face Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium in Saturday’s early kick off.
Vale come into the fixture at Burton off the back of a midweek Carabao Cup victory away at Blackpool. Following a tightly contested first half at Bloomfield Road, debutant Mo Faal got the decisive goal after he headed home a Jordan Shipley corner with fifteen minutes to play.
Vale’s last outing in the league was on Thursday 7th August, when they hosted Cardiff City at Vale Park and came away with a point, despite feeling they probably deserved to have taken all three.
Post-Blackpool Thoughts
Here’s what Darren Moore said about Tuesday’s cup win:
“I really thought it was a good game for us and I'm really pleased first and foremost to get into the second round and thank you to the travelling fans.”
“The subs came on and changed the game for us. It was great to see Mo get the goal, but I thought the substitutions had a big part to play tonight.”
Press Conference Takeaways
Jordan Gabriel looking ahead to Saturday’s game:
“They’re a good team and we’ve been doing our homework and really focussing on how we’ll break them down and win a game of football.”
“The most important thing is focussing on ourselves and doing what we can to win”.
The gaffer’s thoughts ahead of the Burton game:
"They’re a real wonderful and collected team, the environment at Burton is a really close one, the stadium feels on top of you”
"They have some wonderful individuals and are a great team… It’s a great test on Saturday lunchtime, but something we will be ready for”.
About Burton Albion
The Brewers have been in League One since 2018, following their relegation from the Championship the previous season. Burton have been fortunate to avoid relegation to League Two in the last two seasons, finishing 20th on both occasions, and surviving by two points, and then more recently, one point.
Burton have made a stable start to the season, picking up one win from their opening two games. This came in a 2-1 victory over Mansfield Town at the Pirelli Stadium, with goals from Charlie Webster.
The Opposition Dugout
The man in charge at Burton is Gary Bowyer. Gary took over the club in December 2024 following Tom Hounsell’s very short spell in charge at the Midlands club. Bowyer became Burton’s eighth manager in the space of five years when he was appointed eight months ago.
The Englishman began his managerial career back in 1997 with Ilkeston Town, before moving to Derby as their youth manager, where he stayed for six years. Following this, Bowyer spent eleven years working with Blackburn Rovers, starting with the youth side and eventually becoming the first team manager in 2013. After spells with Blackpool, Bradford, Salford and Dundee, he was appointed as Burton’s manager, where he has managed twenty-nine games so far, guiding them to safety last season.
Player to Watch
Defensive midfielder Charlie Webster has made a bright start to the season, scoring Burton’s two goals in their victory against Mansfield Town on the opening day. Webster also had a steady campaign last time out, scoring five goals across the season, which saw him finish third in the club’s scoring list.
Fixture Throwback
Burton Albion 0-1 Port Vale, 23rd March 2024
The last time Vale travelled to Burton was in March 2024, when they came away with a 1-0 win thanks to a goal from former Valiant, Ryan Loft.
Vale had the better of the chances in the first half, with James Wilson and Ryan Loft both having great opportunities to give the Valiants the lead, whilst Connor Ripley denied Mark Helm from close range at the other end.
On the hour mark, Loft met an outswinging Tom Sang corner, but his headed effort cannoned back off the post. The match-winning goal came with seven minutes to play. Following a counter led by Ethan Chislett, Loft found himself bearing down on goal, and decided to play it back into the path of Chislett. Chislett eventually got his shot away only for his effort to hit the post, but the ball fell to Loft, who thrashed home from close range.
