Port Vale - Wrexham, English Division 2
2004-04-10 16.00 CET
Pick: Port Vale
Stake: 4%
Odds: 1,85 (Note: Play as Asian hcp -0,5 on Bet365)
Final reason for bet
· Port Vale is a very good team playing at home.
· Port Vale has performed well lately especially at home.
· Wrexham is plagued by injuries and also suffers from suspensions.
· Wrexham has played bad on the road lately.
General comment about the game
Playoff hopefuls Port Vale will play against fellow playoff hopefuls Wrexham on Saturday afternoon at home on Vale Park. Port Vale is one of the strongest home sides in the league with the record 13/5/2. Lately they have played against several others of their playoff rivals at home; Swindon, Bristol City, Luton and Brighton. They have managed very well and collected eight points from those matches with victories against Bristol City and Luton as the high. In all of these matches Port Vale has played better, had most of the possession and also created most and the best chances. Victories in all would not have been undeserved. In their latest home game they were 3-0 up against Swindon with less than 30 minutes to play. Everything looked set for another win but Swindon battled their way back and managed to score three goals to earn a point. Last weekend they played away against rejuvenated bottom of the table Wycombe. The hosts managed to come from behind and win by 2-1. Port Vale started best and also scored early on but after that it was Wycombe’s game and the win was well deserved. However, we must bear two things in our mind when evaluating this defeat for Port Vale. First, Wycombe’s recent form is quite impressive especially for a relegation battler managing only two defeats from their last twelve matches. Second, Port Vale is a totally different team playing on the road than at home and their bad away record shows that; 4/4/12. Therefore we are not troubled by their latest result when recommending a bet on Saturday. For the fifth time in a row Port Vale will face a playoff rival at home. Furthermore, we strongly believe that Wrexham is the weakest of these teams and with Port Vale’s good displays against the others anything but a home victory would by very surprising. Mixed fortunes for Port Vale concerning their treatment room. Good news is that striker Adrian Littlejohn (23(9) apps, 7 goals) and defenders Sam Collins (37 apps, 4 goals) and George Pilkington (38 apps, 1 goal) are all available for contention after missing last game against Wycombe. However, late fitness tests will tell whether striker Steve Brooker (25(3) apps, 7 goals), midfielder Micky Cummins (36 apps, 3 goals) and on loan defender Craig James (3 apps, 0 goals) will be available.
Newcomers Wrexham has managed to grab more points than even their biggest fans would have predicted before the season kicked off. That is much due to some very good away performances earlier this season; they won eight games from 14 attempts and collected more points away than at home. However, their recent form playing on the road is anything but good; they have only managed to take one point from their last five away games. Instead they have been in a good stroll at home that however ended in their last home game against Tranmere. The first half against Tranmere was a typical tight derby game with few chances from either side. Second half was dominated by the visitors and they managed to score their deserved goal ten minutes before the end. If it had not been for Wrexham’s on loan goalkeeper Michael Ingham the visitors would have scored earlier. Obviously Wrexham manager Denis Smith was very disappointed after the game and thought the players did not battle enough and therefore made a weak performance. Last away game was against table toppers Plymouth. The hosts made not their finest performance but had despite that most of the possession and created also the best chances but were unable to score. Wrexham battled hard and was reduced to ten men early in second half but managed to hold on to a deserved draw. Wrexham is for the moment plagued with injuries. Their physio has told the press that it is the worst he has ever known. There are 14 from the first team squad crowded in his treatment room. Many of them are first team regulars such as striker Hector Sam (19(12) apps, 6 goals), midfielders Steve Thomas (24(8) apps, 2 goals), Jim Whitley (31(2) apps, 2 goals) and Carlos Edwards (39 apps, 5 goals), defenders Dennis Lawrence (38 apps, 5 goals), joint captain Brain Carey (31(2) apps, 2 goals), Steve Roberts (18(3) apps, 0 goals) and Shaun Pejic (20(1) apps, 0 goals) and goalkeeper Andy Dibble (35 apps). Manager Smith hopes to have some of these wounded players available on Saturday. Definitely out is suspended duo midfielder and joint captain Darren Ferguson (35 apps, 1 goal) and defender Craig Morgan (10(3) apps, 0 goals).
Good home side Port Vale has a real chance of strengthening their playoff bid on Saturday when facing an injury and suspension plagued Wrexham. Furthermore, recent form is the reverse for the teams with Port Vale showing very good performances playing at home and Wrexham’s has many bad displays on the road lately. High stake 4% suggested.
Recent games for home team
|
2004-04-03 |
Wycombe-Port Vale |
2-1 |
|
2004-03-30 |
Port Vale-Swindon |
3-3 |
|
2004-03-27 |
Port Vale-Bristol City |
2-1 |
|
2004-03-20 |
Barnsley-Port Vale |
0-0 |
|
2004-03-16 |
Port Vale-Luton |
1-0 |
Recent games for away team
|
2004-04-03 |
Wrexham-Tranmere |
0-1 |
|
2004-03-27 |
Plymouth-Wrexham |
0-0 |
|
2004-03-20 |
Wrexham-Swindon |
3-2 |
|
2004-03-16 |
QPR-Wrexham |
2-0 |
|
2004-03-13 |
Peterborough-Wrexham |
6-1 |
Home table
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Port Vale |
20 |
13 |
5 |
2 |
41-26 |
44 |
Away table
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Wrexham |
19 |
8 |
1 |
10 |
20-33 |
25 |
Links for this game
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Wrexham: |
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League: |
// SportsObserver 040409
