League Two leaders Port Vale will be bidding to return to winning ways when they head to the Mazuma Mobile Stadium on Saturday afternoon to tackle bottom-of-the-table Morecambe.
The hosts have picked up 30 points from their 15 matches this season to top the League Two table, three points clear of second-placed Walsall, while the Shrimps sit in 24th, boasting only 10 points from their first 15 games.
Match preview
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Morecambe have a record of two wins, four draws and nine defeats from their 15 League Two matches this season, with a total of 10 points leaving them 24th in the table, two points behind 22nd-placed Swindon Town.
Derek Adams's side have actually won two of their last three matches, including a 2-0 success over Worthing in the FA Cup on November 2, before beating Harrogate Town 2-1 in the league last weekend.
The Shrimps will enter this match off the back of a defeat, going down 2-1 at home to Carlisle United in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, but they still progressed to the next round, finishing top of Northern Group C.
Morecambe will face Swindon in a relegation six-pointer next weekend, before ending the month with a home fixture against Bradford City in the second round of the FA Cup.
The Lancashire outfit have lost two of their last three matches against Port Vale, but they recorded a 1-0 victory when the two teams last locked horns in a League One fixture in February 2023.
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Port Vale were relegated from League One in 23rd spot last season, but they are top of the pile in League Two and have shown enough this term to suggest that an automatic return to the third tier is entirely possible.
The Valiants have won nine, drawn three and lost three of their 15 league matches in 2024-25 to collect 30 points, which has left them three points clear of second-placed Walsall, who have a game in hand.
It is incredibly tight at the top of the division, with only three points separating fourth-placed Doncaster Rovers from the summit, so there is pressure on Port Vale to return to winning ways this weekend, having lost at Gillingham last time out.
Darren Moore's side will enter this match off the back of a positive result, though, beating Wrexham on penalties in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, which has seen them advance to the next stage of the competition.
Port Vale have won eight, drawn four and lost 10 of their previous 22 matches against Morecambe, but this game will be the first time that the two teams have locked horns in League Two since April 2021.
Team News
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Morecambe will again be without the services of goalkeeper Stuart Moore due to the injury which forced him off against Harrogate in the league last time out, so Harry Burgoyne, who started against Carlisle, is in line to feature between the sticks.
Head coach Adams will make changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, including a recall for on-loan Liverpool defender Rhys Williams.
Ben Tollitt is Morecambe's leading goalscorer in League Two this season with four, and he is a certainty in a forward area.
As for Port Vale, head coach Moore made a number of changes for the EFL Trophy fixture with Wrexham on Tuesday, but it will be a more familiar XI for the trip to Morecambe in League Two.
Jayden Stockley has scored four times this season and will again lead the line, while Ronan Curtis has three goals in 2024-25 and is also expected to be in the starting side for the visitors.
Rico Richards has been another impressive performer this season, coming up with three goals from a wide area, and the on-loan Aston Villa attacker is set to feature in the final third of the field.
Morecambe possible starting lineup:
Burgoyne; Hendrie, R Williams, Stott, Tutonda; White, Jones; Tollitt, Lewis, Edwards; Dackers
Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Ripley; Debrah, Heneghan, Hall; Cover, Sang, Croasdale, Grant; Richards, Stockley, Curtis
We say: Morecambe 1-2 Port Vale
Morecambe have the worst home record in League Two this season, picking up just three points from seven games, while Port Vale have the strongest away record, boasting 16 points from eight matches. We are actually expecting it to be tight in terms of the scoreline on Saturday, but we are backing Port Vale to navigate their way to all three points.
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