Port Vale will be hoping to end their poor run of form when they welcome relegation-threatened Scunthorpe United to Vale Park on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts' playoff hopes have diminished in recent weeks due to their current spell, whilst the visitors have lost five in a row to leave them in the relegation places.
Match preview
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Port Vale's goalless draw at Leyton Orient last weekend means it is now five games without a win in all competitions for them, although it did at least end their run of four consecutive defeats.
In truth though, the game was a dull affair and both sides lacked the quality to create anything meaningful in front of goal, with the failure to find the net meaning that Darrell Clarke's side have also scored only three goals across that same five-match spell.
As a result, the Valiants have dropped to 10th in the League Two table, with five points now separating themselves from Mansfield Town in the playoff places.
However, with a favourable home fixture to come on Saturday, as well as possessing at least one game in hand on all of the sides above them in the table, their fading playoff hopes could be reignited quickly.
After dropping 18 points from a possible 36 at home already this season though, Clarke will be aware of the need to improve on their form in front of their own supporters if they are to put in a consistent challenge for the top seven, starting with the welcome of Scunthorpe at the weekend.
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Meanwhile, Scunthorpe's targets this season are at the other end of the League Two table, with Saturday's visitors heading into the weekend inside the relegation places.
A six-point gap separate the Iron from Colchester United in safety, but having played at least one game more than all of their potential relegation rivals around them, time is running out for Keith Hill's side to avoid the drop out of the Football League.
Hill's appointment back in November was supposed to provide the much-needed 'bounce' required to lift Scunthorpe away from danger, but the former Tranmere Rovers boss has failed to provide it as of yet.
In fact, the 3-2 defeat at home to Bristol Rovers on Tuesday evening was their fifth defeat in a row, to leave the manager with just one win from his 14 games in charge up to this point, 12 of which have been in the league.
Sam Burns netted a late brace in midweek to leave a more respectable scoreline, and in the process he had also netted his side's first goals in five matches, but his goals were the only slight positive from another dreadful match for Scunthorpe.
A tough away trip awaits them on Saturday and Hill will be feeling the pressure to achieve a result against all the odds, otherwise he could soon be heading through the exit door, and his employers could be dropping through the trap door from League Two.
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Team News
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Port Vale could hand debuts to two new signings on Saturday, after 25-year-old winger Joel Cooper joined on loan from Oxford United and goalkeeper Tomas Holy joined on loan from Ipswich Town on Thursday.
Jake Taylor remains on the sidelines with a thigh injury, as well as fellow midfielder Tom Conlon, who is ruled out due to an Achilles problem.
James Gibbons could also be missing for some time, with the right-sided player being substituted due to injury just eight minutes in against Orient.
David Worrall could come back into contention after missing the draw due to COVID-19, whilst Dan Jones also failed to feature following a knock.
As for the visitors, they could hand out a debut of their own when they visit Port Vale, with experienced winger Liam Feeney signing on a free transfer on Wednesday.
Tyrese Sinclair made his debut on Tuesday after arriving on loan from Mansfield, but after failing to make an impact from the bench, he is unlikely to start once more.
Harry Bunn remains sidelined for several weeks following the calf injury he picked up against Newport County recently, as well as a few other unnamed absentees at this point.
Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Holy; Smith, Martin, Hall; Cooper, Pett, Worrall, Garrity, Hussey; Amoo, Wilson
Scunthorpe United possible starting lineup:
Watson; Matheson, Onariase, Taft, O'Malley; Rowe; Hippolyte, Perry, Pugh; Burns, Wood
We say: Port Vale 2-0 Scunthorpe United
Although they have been in poor form themselves of late, and have struggled at home this season, we expect Port Vale to win relatively comfortably in this one on Saturday.
Scunthorpe are lacking quality and any positives as things stand, so the hosts should have enough in them to see off a poor visiting side.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Port Vale win with a probability of 60.02%. A draw had a probability of 23.3% and a win for Scunthorpe United had a probability of 16.65%.
The most likely scoreline for a Port Vale win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.91%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.08%) and 2-1 (9.52%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.95%), while for a Scunthorpe United win it was 0-1 (6.31%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 13.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Port Vale in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Port Vale.
