Match Preview: Wycombe v Port Vale

Port Vale are the visitors to Adams Park this Saturday as Wycombe Wanderers attempt to extend their unbeaten start to the league season.



The Valiants are currently 14th in League Two with 19 points to their name.

Their League record so far is 6 wins, 1 draw and 9 defeats.

Vale had a poor start to the season which included 5 straight defeats and they have already made a managerial change, replacing Lee Sinnott with Dean Glover.

The Valiants have enjoyed much more success on their travels than they have at home. With 4 wins and 1 draw on the road, they have the joint 5th best away record in the division. At Vale Park However, they have only picked up 6 points from 8 league games.

True to form, in their last three outings Vale have defeated Lincoln 1-0 in a league match at Sincil Bank and beaten Huddersfield 4-3 at Galpharm Stadium in the FA Cup, before returning home to Vale Park and losing 3-0 to Brentford.

Vale have scored 18 league goals (10 away from home) and have conceded 26 (8 away from home).

Seven different players have scored league goals for Vale this season. The top marksman with 6 goals is Marc Richards, but Luke Rogers isn't far behind with 4, although he may not face Wycombe this Saturday as Yeovil are currently trying to take him on loan with a view to a permanent deal in January.





Wycombe Wanderers are in 2nd place and remain unbeaten after 15 League games.

They have 31 points from 8 wins and 7 draws.

The Blues have scored 16 league goals (9 at home) and have conceded 6 (4 at home).

The last match for Wycombe was a well deserved 1-0 win over promotion rivals Bradford City. This followed a clinical 4-1 win at AFC Wimbledon in the FA Cup five days earlier.

Ten different players have scored goals in all competitions for Wycombe this season. Top scorers are Chris Zebroski and Matt Harrold with 4 goals each.

Right-Back Lewis Hunt who scored the winner against Bradford on Saturday, became the fourth Wycombe defender to find the net this season, following in the footsteps of Mike Williamson, Craig Woodman and Leon Johnson.



Current League Form

Last Five League Games
Wycombe: DDWDW - 9 points
Port Vale : LWLWL - 6 points


Last Five Home Games
Wycombe : DWWDW - 11 points


Last Five Away Games
Port Vale : LWWLW - 9 points



The Last time the two clubs met was in April 2004 when Wycombe won 2-1 at Adams Park, with both Blues' goals coming from Darren Currie.

Previous Meetings At Adams Park
2000/01 : Wycombe 0 Port Vale 1
2001/02 : Wycombe 3 Port Vale 1
2002/03 : Wycombe 3 Port Vale 1
2003/04 : Wycombe 2 Port Vale 1



Team News

Simon Church has broken his hand and will be out for a few weeks. In fact we may not see him again as his loan period expires at about the time he is expected to be fit to play again.

Matt Bloomfield played for 80 minutes in the reserves at Peterborough in midweek and might be given a place on the bench.

A decision on the fitness of Tommy Doherty will be made on Friday morning. When he didn't play at AFC Wimbledon, the club reported he had a slight thigh strain. He subsequently missed last weekend's Bradford game as well, but hopefully he will have recovered in time for this one.

There is no news from the club regarding Gavin Grant.




Recently, Vale have utilised a 4-5-1 formation when playing away from home and as this has brought them considerable success, Wycombe fans should expect to see the same thing on Saturday. They will try to soak up the pressure and rely on the quick breakaway for their goals.

Angelo Balanta's second-half performance last Saturday was enough to warm the cockles of your heart and if he starts against Port Vale this weekend, I expect the Chairboys to be capable of unpicking the Port Vale defence and banking another valuable three points.

Prediction
Wycombe 2 Port Vale 0

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