Port Vale vs Stockport Prediction: Hatters’ squad strength should make the difference

The eight remaining teams in the EFL Trophy will be starting to take the competition more seriously now the prospect of a trip to Wembley is becoming more realistic and Stockport County visit Port Vale in an all-League 1 quarter-final clash at Vale Park on Tuesday night (19:00 GMT kick-off, Sky Sports+).

There are 20 places between the teams in the league table, with fourth-placed Stockport in the thick of the promotion race while Vale are rock-bottom and nine points adrift of 23rd-placed Rotherham. Below are my Port Vale vs Stockport predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Port Vale's changes could include a start for recent free-agent signing Tyler Magloire in defence, while Elijah Campbell and Andre Gray could also feature. Ben Garrity and George Byers are out due to injuries.

Stockport's Josh Dacres-Cogley can play in this competition despite being sent off in the league on Saturday. Louie Barry arrived on loan with an injury and may not be risked, but Lewis Bate made his return from injury as a substitute against Orient. Adama Sidibeh and Malik Mothersille are in contention for places in the County forward line.

Football Odds

Today's Football Fixtures

Port Vale vs Stockport Odds

Port Vale are the 6/4 favourites for a home win in 90 minutes, with Stockport just the outsiders at 8/5 and the draw priced at 23/10. Both sides can be backed at 5/6 to progress to the semi-finals.

Over and under 2.5 goals are also both priced at 5/6, while it's 4/6 that both teams score in the game and 11/10 that one or both teams fail to find the net in the first 90 minutes.

Stockport to win @ 8/5

Stockport are well worthy of support as slight underdogs for their EFL Trophy quarter-final trip to face Port Vale at Vale Park.

The Hatters have earned 53 points in League 1 this season, including a comfortable 3-0 win over Vale when they last visited the Potteries in late October, while the home side are adrift at the bottom of the standings with only 22 points from 28 games.

A change of manager gave Vale a brief shot in the arm as Jon Brady oversaw cup wins over Fleetwood in the FA Cup and Bolton in this competition in his first two matches in charge.

Since then, Vale have managed only one win in five games, including home defeats to relegation rivals Exeter and AFC Wimbledon and sloppy defending saw them twice lose the lead in Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Burton.

Brady has some tough decisions to make with an FA Cup fourth-round tie at home to Bristol City coming up on Saturday, while his main priority has to be digging Vale out of relegation trouble.

Stockport have the squad depth that Vale can only dream of, with a number of players on their bench more than capable of starting in this competition without weakening the side.

With no fixture this weekend, manager Dave Challinor can afford to go as strong as he likes with his team selection as a Wembley trip becomes a more realistic prospect.

County are on a seven-game unbeaten run, winning five of those games, and with only one defeat so far in 2026 they look a solid choice to see off a Vale side whose priorities may lie elsewhere.

Adama Sidibeh anytime goalscorer @ 21/10

January signing Adama Sidibeh made his first start for Stockport in the recent 2-1 home win over Plymouth and after a 28-minute run-out as a substitute in Saturday's draw with Leyton Orient, he could get another chance to impress against Port Vale.

Sidibeh opted for County after being a target for several League One teams in the transfer window, having scored 11 goals this season for Scottish Championship leaders St Johnstone and the Gambia national team.

He could prove difficult for the Port Vale defence to handle after they conceded six goals in their last three home matches and is a candidate to consider to score his first goal for the Hatters.

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