Preview: Burton Albion vs. Port Vale

Sports Mole previews Saturday’s League One clash between Burton Albion and Port Vale, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Two teams fighting for League One survival will face off in Saturday’s meeting between Burton Albion and Port Vale at the Pirelli Stadium.

The Brewers head into the weekend in 19th place in the table, while the Valiants are currently languishing in 23rd position.

Match preview
© Reuters

Burton are currently experiencing a poor run of form, having taken just one point from six games since claiming their most recent victory over Leyton Orient on February 17.

The Brewers suffered a third consecutive defeat in last Saturday’s away match against Exeter City, with Reece Cole’s first-half effort proving enough to separate the two sides.

As a result of their poor form, Burton are sitting just four points clear of the drop zone with 10 matches left to play in League One this season.

After competing in back-to-back away matches, Martin Paterson’s side will now return to the Pirelli Stadium, where they will look to end a four-game losing run on home turf.

Burton are also looking to claim their first home over Port Vale for the first time since October 2015, having lost each of their last three head-to-head home fixtures.

Meanwhile, Port Vale are still waiting for their first win of the calendar year after drawing four and losing 10 of their 14 matches in 2024.

After holding Leyton Orient to a draw in their most recent away game, the Valiants missed the chance to build upon that result in last Saturday’s home clash with Oxford United.

Ciaron Brown and Josh Murphy grabbed a goal apiece to condemn Darren Moore’s side to a 2-0 defeat, which leaves them six points adrift from safety with 11 fixtures left to play.

The Valiants may have lost five of their last six away games, but they have already experienced a success at the Pirelli Stadium this season.

In their third head-to-head meeting of the campaign, Port Vale claimed a 2-0 away win in November’s FA Cup replay thanks to goals from Gavin Massey and Lewis Cass.

Burton Albion League One form:

Port Vale League One form:

Team News
Jasper Moon, Sam Hughes and Mason Bennett are unlikely to feature for the hosts due to their respective injury issues.

Defender Aristote Nsiala could also be unavailable for the weekend after being absent from Burton’s last two matchday squads.

Manchester United loanee Joe Hugill is expected to lead the line, having started each of Burton’s previous three outings.

As for the Valiants, they are still expected to be without the services of Manchester United loanee Dan Gore and forward Uche Ikpeazu.

Full-back Tom Sang is unlikely to be available for Saturday’s contest after missing the defeat to Oxford through injury.

Forward Bayley Dipepa will also be unavailable, with the youngster currently away with the England Under-17 squad.

Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Caprice, Hamer, Brayford, Sweeney, Bola; Oshilaja, Harper, Powell, Helm; Hugill

Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Ripley; Smith, Debrah, Jones; Plant, Garrity, Ojo, Mighten; Chislett; Massey, Wilson

We say: Burton Albion 1-1 Port Vale
Both teams will be gunning for victory as they look to boost their survival hopes, but with the two sides finding wins hard to come by, we think they may have to settle for a share of the spoils.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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