MX23RW : Friday, May 10 08:36:08| >> :600:495799:495799:
[monks data]
Plymouth Argyle
League One | Gameweek 20
Dec 2, 2022 at 7.45pm UK
Home Park
Port Vale

Plymouth
0 - 2
Port Vale


Lonwijk (61')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Conlon (65'), Wilson (71')
Stevens (56'), Politic (90+5')

Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs. Port Vale - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Friday's League One clash between Plymouth Argyle and Port Vale, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Plymouth Argyle will look to maintain their position at the top of the League One table when they play host to 10th-placed Port Vale on Friday.

The league leaders have only lost one of their previous 20 games in all competitions, while Port Vale have won their last two competitive matches.


Match preview

Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher on February 5, 2022© Reuters

Plymouth may have only lost one of their last 20 outings, but they saw a 16-game unbeaten run come to an end when they were thrashed 5-1 by Grimsby Town in the first round of the FA Cup.

The consecutive league draws followed that FA Cup defeat, but Plymouth returned to winning ways in their last outing as they claimed a 3-2 win over Charlton Athletic in the EFL Trophy.

After falling behind, Sam Cosgrove, Niall Ennis and Caleb Roberts all found the net to give the Pilgrims a comfortable advantage, and although Charlton pulled a goal back in stoppage time, Plymouth held firm to progress to the last 16.

Steven Schumacher's side will now turn their attention to Friday's meeting with Port Vale, where they will be aiming to extend their unbeaten league run to 16 games.

Impressively, Plymouth have won all nine of their League One home matches this season, scoring at least two goals in seven of those games, and they will attempt to maintain their 100% home record on Friday.

Meanwhile, Port Vale will be looking to record three consecutive victories in all competitions after beating Charlton and Barnsley in their last two matches.

A 1-0 victory over the Addicks in the league was followed by a 2-1 against Barnsley, where strikes from Dennis Politic and David Worrall helped the Valiants progress to the next round of the EFL Trophy.

Darrell Clarke's side will now focus on league matters, and they will be aiming to reduce the four-point gap between them and the playoff places.

Although they have lost only two of their last eight league games, Port Vale have picked up just one point from their previous two away matches.

In their most recent away game, they were thumped 4-0 by Oxford United, and Clarke will know that his side face another tough away trip on Friday.

Plymouth Argyle League One form:


Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):


Port Vale League One form:


Port Vale form (all competitions):



Team News

Port Vale manager Darrell Clarke applauds fans after the match on January 8, 2022© Reuters

Plymouth made a number of changes to the side for the EFL Trophy victory over Charlton, where Mikael Miller made his first start of the season after recovering from injury.

Despite winning that game, Schumacher is expected to name a side similar to the one that started Plymouth's 1-1 draw against Lincoln nearly two weeks ago.

Ryan Hardie will lead the line for the Pilgrims, and he will be looking to add to the 10 goals that he has scored in all competitions this season.

As for the visitors, they named a fairly strong lineup for their EFL Trophy victory against Barnsley, but Clarke could still make a few changes for Friday's contest.

Dan Jones could be brought into the starting XI to feature in a back three alongside Connor Hall and Nathan Smith, while Tom Conlon is also expected to come into the midfield.

Daniel Butterworth and Gavin Massey dropped out of the lineup for the win over Barnsley, but the pair are set to return to the side.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Lonwijk, Gillesphey, Galloway; Edwards, Houghton, Butcher, Mumba; Whittaker, Randell; Hardie

Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Stevens; Smith, Hall, Jones; Worrall, Garrity, Conlon, Benning; Butterworth; Massey, Wilson


SM words green background

We say: Plymouth Argyle 3-1 Port Vale

Although Port Vale have won their last two games, we think that Plymouth will maintain their 100% home league record by claiming another victory on Friday.


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


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


ID:500963:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect12800:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Plymouth vs Port Vale

Plymouth Argyle
78.4%
Draw
5.4%
Port Vale
16.2%
37
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher on February 5, 2022
Read Next:
Saturday's League One predictions including Burton Albion vs. Plymouth Argyle
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CLeicester CityLeicester463141189414897
3Leeds UnitedLeeds462791081433890
4Southampton462691187632487
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4621121370472375
6Norwich CityNorwich4621101579641573
7Hull City461913146860870
8Middlesbrough46209177162969
9Coventry CityCoventry4617131670591164
10Preston North EndPreston46189195667-1163
11Bristol City461711185351262
12Cardiff CityCardiff46195225370-1762
13Millwall461611194555-1059
14Swansea CitySwansea461512195965-657
15Watford461317166161056
16Sunderland46168225254-256
17Stoke CityStoke461511204960-1156
18Queens Park RangersQPR461511204758-1156
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn461411216074-1453
20Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds46158234468-2453
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth461312215970-1151
RBirmingham CityBirmingham461311225065-1550
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield46918194877-2945
RRotherham UnitedRotherham46512293789-5227


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!