Port Vale vs Crewe Alexandra Match Analysis & Prediction
05/09/2023 9:45 pm
Port Vale and Crewe Alexandra kick off their EFL Trophy campaigns with a Northern Section Group B match at Vale Park on Tuesday night.
While the hosts enter the contest on the back of a 2-1 victory over Oxford United in the third tier, their visitors beat MK Dons 3-1 last time out in League Two.
A 7-0 defeat to Barnsley represented a nightmare beginning for Andy Crosby’s side, but the redemption arc has been something to behold, as Port Vale enter Tuesday’s game having won six and drawn one of their last seven matches across all competitions.
Alongside progression to the third round of the EFL Cup -where upcoming opponents Crewe Alexandra were one of their victims – Port Vale have prevailed in each of their last three League One matches against Charlton Athletic, Carlisle United and most recently a nine-man Oxford side.
Port Vale’s recent EFL Cup second-round victory over Crewe Alexandra came through the 12-yard mark, and the visitors therefore have an added motivation to inflict a first group-stage exit on the Valiants since the 2016-17 EFL Trophy campaign.
One-time winners of the competition in the 2012-13 season, Crewe Alexandra have since become all too familiar with early exits from the tournament, failing to make it out of the group stage in five of the last seven editions and finishing dead last in their section last year.
However, Crewe have made a respectable start to the new season, losing just two of their first eight matches across all competitions and fighting back from a 1-0 deficit to beat MK Dons at the weekend through second-half goals from Conor Thomas, Courtney Baker-Richardson and Chris Long.
Lee Bell’s side travel to Vale Park with just one win to show from their last eight competitive away matches – a penalty-shootout victory over Sunderland in the first round of the EFL Cup before their spot-kick luck ran out against the Valiants.
That disappointing defeat to Port Vale also marked Crewe Alexandra’s fourth loss in a row against their upcoming hosts, who have kept clean sheets in all of those victories and have not lost to the Railwaymen since August 2017.
Port Vale vs. Crewe Alexandra Head to head
In the 32 previous meetings between these two teams, Port Vale have claimed 14 victories while Crewe Alexandra have won 12, and they have drawn in six. Crewe have scored 33 goals and conceded 39 in the process.
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02/04/2018Crewe Alexandra2Port Vale2League Two
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22/09/2018Crewe Alexandra0Port Vale1League Two
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06/04/2019Port Vale1Crewe Alexandra0League Two
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02/11/2019Crewe Alexandra0Port Vale1League Two
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29/08/2023Port Vale(P)0Crewe Alexandra0League Cup
Port Vale Team News
Port Vale emerged from the game against Oxford without any fresh injury or suspension concerns, but Alfie Devine is one of three players to have been called up for international duty this month.
Devine and fellow midfielder Oliver Arblaster have both been selected to represent England U20, while striker Joshua Thomas – on loan from Swansea City – will turn out for Wales U21.
Port Vale's Last 5 Matches
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15/08/2023Blackpool0Port Vale0League One
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19/08/2023Charlton Athletic2Port Vale3League One
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26/08/2023Port Vale1Carlisle United0League One
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29/08/2023Port Vale(P)0Crewe Alexandra0League Cup
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02/09/2023Oxford United1Port Vale2League One
Crewe Alexandra Team News
Crewe Alexandra’s up-and-coming prospect – 19-year-old defender Connor O’Riordan has been selected to represent the Republic of Ireland’s U21 side.
O’Riordan’s fellow teenager Zac Williams should step in this week, while Newcastle United loanee Joe White is eyeing a recall to the XI in an attacking midfield role.
Crewe Alexandra's Last 5 Matches
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15/08/2023Crewe Alexandra4Newport County2League Two
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19/08/2023Crewe Alexandra2Walsall2League Two
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26/08/2023Bradford City1Crewe Alexandra0League Two
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29/08/2023Port Vale(P)0Crewe Alexandra0League Cup
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02/09/2023Crewe Alexandra3Milton Keynes Dons1League Two
Port Vale vs. Crewe Alexandra: Odds and Predictions
Main Prediction
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