Port Vale vs Fleetwood Prediction: Hosts to capitalise

Port Vale welcome Fleetwood Town to Vale Park on Friday (19:30 GMT, discovery+) in the third round of the FA Cup. A division separates the two sides but they were both League 2 clubs last season, with the Valiants going unbeaten in the two meetings.

Read on for my Port Vale vs Fleetwood predictions, aided by the latest match odds and team news.

Team News

Liam Gordon remains absent for Port Vale through injury. Other than that, new head coach Jon Brady has everyone else available for Friday's cup tie.

Devante Cole will likely lead the line, having scored eight goals in 20 appearances this term.

Football Odds

Harrison Holgate and Shaun Rooney are out through injury for Fleetwood. Ched Evans is also a doubt for the Fishermen because of a knee issue.

Ryan Graydon has eight goals in all competitions for the visitors and he is set to feature in attack as his team look to end a three-game run without a goal.

Today's Football Fixtures

Port Vale vs Fleetwood Odds

Port Vale have won three of their last four home games in all competitions and they are 4/6 (implied probability of 60%) to win this match in 90 minutes.

Fleetwood's latest away trip was a goalless stalemate at Salford City, and the draw here is priced at 11/4.

The Cod Army are 4/1 to pull off an upset at Vale Park.

BTTS - No is valued at 1/1, with Fleetwood failing to score in three games.

Which Team To Score - Only Port Vale @ 9/5

Fleetwood are likely going to be low on confidence heading to Vale Park as they are without a goal in their last three appearances. They are up against a side who can be tough to break down, despite sitting bottom of League 1.

This is going to be Brady's first game in charge of the Valiants, too, so the home players will be out to impress the new boss. Their last match saw them record a thumping 5-1 victory at home against Blackpool.

The hosts will be hoping for something similar here, and given the current struggles of the visitors in the final third, I think backing Port Vale as the only team to score seems a good price at 9/5.

Total Goals - Under 2.5 @ 1/1

With that in mind, I think this could be a low-scoring game. The Valiants are not always free-scoring and six of their last 10 matches in all competitions have seen fewer than three goals scored, including their second round triumph over Bristol Rovers on home soil (1-0).

Fleetwood have seen this bet land in five of their past six fixtures in all competitions, including each of their last three. The two teams may have played out a 3-3 draw in the EFL Trophy back in November, but I think a lot has happened since then, and with the visitors struggling to have an impact in attack, it makes this market look a sensible play.

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