Preview: Vale Park hosts a clash with momentum on Blackpool’s side
Port Vale return to Vale Park on New Year’s Day desperate to arrest a worrying slump. Sitting 24th in League One with only 15 points from 22 matches, their recent run reads like a team fighting for survival: three wins all season, six draws and 13 defeats. Results at the tail end of December — a 1-0 reverse against Bradford City after heavy losses to Huddersfield and Peterborough — underline a squad that has struggled both to score and to find consistency. Vale’s goals tally, a meagre 13 across the campaign, and just five strikes at home, paint a worrying picture for the home faithful.
Blackpool arrive in much better shape and with bite in their lungs. Positioned 13th and with 29 points from 23 outings, their December form has been eye-catching: successive wins capped by a 4-0 rout of Rotherham on December 29, and a run showing offensive punch and defensive steadiness. Blackpool’s ability to convert chances — 29 goals on the season and a number of multi-goal performances recently — suggests they’re not merely solid, they are dangerous away from home. The Carabao Cup meeting earlier in the season also went Blackpool’s way, a 1-0 win that will give them added confidence.
Tactical and statistical read
Statistics underline a clash of trajectories. Port Vale’s attack has been blunt, averaging under one goal per match and struggling to create high-quality chances despite a decent total shots count. Their form string suggests defensive frailties and confidence issues. Blackpool, by contrast, have been more clinical in front of goal and come into this game with momentum — four clean-sheet-including wins in recent fixtures and a best player performance from Tom Bloxham in the latest romp. The referee for the fixture, Edward Duckworth, will officiate at Vale Park where the capacity crowd and the tight dimensions could influence set-piece scenarios, but it’s Blackpool’s rhythm and recent clinical finishing that set the tone going into Round 24.
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Betting suggestion (final recommendation) Considering form, recent results and the head-to-head edge Blackpool already holds, the best value in the 1X2 market is to back Blackpool to win. The away price represents an attractive risk-reward given Port Vale’s position and troubling form at this stage of the season.
