After three consecutive draws, York will be hoping to get back to winning ways on Saturday as Port Vale visit the LNER. How are the visitors likely to set up, and who are the key players who have helped them turn their form around in recent games after a poor start to the season?
We’ve met before…
York and Port Vale used to have regular league meetings, but in recent decades Vale have been consistently in higher divisions, meaning that there have been only two games between the sides this century. Those came in 2012/13 when, much like this season, City had just gained promotion from non-league. The meeting at Vale Park ended level, as goals from Alex Rodman and Jamie Reed saw Gary Mills’ York side come back from a two-goal deficit to claim a 2-2 draw. The return fixture at Bootham Crescent in March, by which time Mills had been replaced as manager by Nigel Worthington, ended in a 2-0 win for Port Vale, who ultimately won automatic promotion that season.
City’s last home win over the Valiants came back on New Year’s Day in 1994, when a Paul Barnes strike was enough to secure a 1-0 victory. Port Vale have the slight edge in terms of the overall head-to-head record, with 20 wins compared to 17 for the Minstermen. As with all of City’s opponents at the LNER so far this season, this will be the first time Vale have played a fixture at the stadium.
What to expect from Port Vale
Port Vale dropped out of League One last season, and much like the other relegated sides they’ve experienced a difficult start to life back in League Two. Manager Jon Brady was coming under some pressure after Vale failed to win any of their first five games, but has found a way to turn things around in recent weeks. In fact, despite still finding themselves down in 20th, the Staffordshire club are one of the in-form teams with ten points gained from their last five games.
York may take some hope from the fact that most of Vale’s positive results have come at home, where they remain unbeaten so far this season. Their away form has been much weaker, with four straight defeats on the road followed by their first away point in Tuesday evening’s 1-1 draw at Gillingham. However, City’s last two opponents at the LNER, Northampton and Accrington, also had poor away records coming into those games but were still able to take a point each.
What jumps out immediately from the League Two statistics is that games involving Port Vale don't tend to be heavy on goals. They don’t score many, with 6 goals from 10 games being the joint lowest in the league, and their underlying attacking data explains why: they rank in the bottom for three for measures such as expected goals, big chances created, shots on target and touches in the opposition box. This lack of goals was an issue for them last season, with their meagre 36 goals scored a big reason for their relegation. However, they don’t concede often either, boasting the fourth meanest defence in terms of goals conceded (10) and the lowest figure in League Two for expected goals against (10.2).
Brady has generally been using a 3-5-2 formation this season. Slovakian goalkeeper Marko Maroši has recently ousted Jackson Smith as Vale’s first choice between the sticks, and can expect to continue having conceded just once in his last three appearances. Connor Hall offers experience and physicality as one of the three centre-backs, with former York loanee Jasper Moon and Cameron Humphreys likely to be alongside him. At right wing-back, Jordan Gabriel has been one of their main attacking outlets with his pace and crossing threat, while on the left Kyle John has been eased back into action after a spell out with a back injury.
In midfield, captain Ben Garrity is likely to start, as is George Byers after recently returning from injury, while Kyle Dempsey may return to the line-up having made a positive contribution from the bench at Gillingham. There are options to rotate the front two: ex-Premier League player Onel Hernández started the last game alongside Max Watters, but that pair came off at half-time for Oli Lynch and Keyrol Figueroa, who scored the equaliser. Mo Faal is a long-term injury absence, as is Matty Craig who has been ruled out for the season with an ACL tear.
York team news
York head coach Scott Lindsey may be tempted to make changes after a disappointing performance in Tuesday evening’s 1-1 draw with Accrington. His attacking options remain limited by Jovan Malcolm’s ongoing suspension and Josh Stones’ injury, but it’s possible that Frankie Maguire could be handed a first league start in place of either Alex Newby or Joe Grey. In midfield, Hiram Boateng may not yet be quite ready to start despite returning to action with a substitute appearance against Accrington. Arthur Read, on the other hand, could be in contention for a start after Lindsey praised his contribution from the bench in Tuesday's game.
Morgan Williams was fit enough for a place on the bench on Tuesday, but is unlikely to be ready to play 90 minutes, so the right centre-back will be one of Jack Hunt or Ryan Fallowfield. Another selection dilemma is the right wing-back position, where neither Jeff King nor Joe Felix have nailed down the role as their own. City’s only remaining injury absences aside from Stones are Zech Medley, who has returned to light training but isn't expected to be involved at the weekend, and Craig Hewitt who remains further away from a return.
