League Two leaders Port Vale are set to welcome League One promotion hopefuls Wrexham to Vale Park on Tuesday in their third match in the EFL Trophy.
The hosts drew 2-2 with Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21s but won 5-4 on penalties in their most recent EFL Trophy match on September 3 and are second in their four-team group with five points, whereas the visiting team are first with six points and beat Wolves U21s 3-0 on October 8.
Match preview
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Port Vale will be baffled as to how they were taken to penalties by Wolves considering they faced no big chances while creating four themselves from their 21 shots.
The home team are first in League Two with 30 points after 15 games and occupy the first of three automatic promotion spots, though they are only three clear of second-placed Walsall, who have a game in hand, and are just three points ahead of fourth-placed Doncaster Rovers.
The Valiants lost 1-0 against Gillingham on Saturday in League Two, and in the aftermath of the defeat manager Darren Moore argued that his team were the architects of their own downfall.
Moore's side have lost their two most recent games, but they did emerge triumphant in eight of the prior 10, drawing the other two matches.
Port Vale's home record has also been strong given they have won four of their last six fixtures at Vale Park, losing one and drawing one in that time.
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As for Wrexham, they come into Tuesday's clash off the back of a 1-0 win against Mansfield Town in League One on Saturday, with Ryan Barnett's sixth-minute goal enough to secure all three points.
The Welsh team are third with 28 points from 14 matches and are only two points from second-placed Birmingham City, who occupy the division's final automatic promotion spot.
In their game against Wolves U21s, the visitors were dominant throughout considering they kept their opponents from creating any big chances while producing three of their own.
Boss Phil Parkinson's side are League One's joint sixth-best offensive and joint best defensive club having scored 22 goals and conceded just 10 times.
Parkinson will be relived that his team managed to defeat Mansfield given they had drawn two and lost one of their prior three matches.
Wrexham's away form is concerning, with the visitors having failed to win seven of their last nine games on the road, losing four and drawing three in that period.
Team News
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The home team could start in a base 3-4-3 formation, with Jesse Debrah, Connor Hall and Ben Heneghan candidates to play as centre-backs.
Jason Lowe and Thomas Sang are likely to feature in a double pivot in midfield behind a forward line consisting of Benicio Boaitey, Ruari Paton and Ronan Curtis.
As for the visitors, Arthur Okonkwo may start in goal behind a back three of Max Cleworth, Eoghan O'Connell and Thomas O'Connor.
Wrexham are almost certain to use a midfield three, and Andy Cannon could be joined by George Dobson and Oliver Rathbone in the middle of the pitch.
Talisman Paul Mullin could be rested, and in his place the Welsh team could pair together strikers Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Ollie Palmer.
Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Ripley; Debrah, Hall, Heneghan; Cover, Lowe, Sang, Grant; Boaitey, Paton, Curtis
Wrexham possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; Cleworth, O'Connell, O'Connor; Barnett, Cannon, Dobson, Rathbone, Revan; Bodvarsson, Palmer
We say: Port Vale 3-2 Wrexham
Port Vale could look to use their match against Wrexham to get back to winning ways, and it would not be surprising if they won on Tuesday.
Having said that, Wrexham will still likely create chances given the calibre of players at their disposal, so expect the clash at Vale Park to be an entertaining affair.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
