Rotherham vs Port Vale Prediction: Opener could be a tight affair

Port Vale will still be on a high after gaining promotion to League 1 last season, and they start their campaign on Saturday (15:00, Sky Sports +) at Rotherham United, who will be wishing for better fortunes this year, having finished 13th following relegation last term.

Below are my Rotherham vs Port Vale predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this fixture at the AESSEAL New York Stadium.

Football Odds

Team News

Rotherham defender Sean Raggett has missed pre-season with injury, so he is not expected to feature on Saturday, but new boys Kian Spence, Josh Benson, Ar’jany Martha, Denzel Hall and Dru Yearwood will all be pushing for starts.

Marko Marosi could make his debut in goal for Vale, while fellow signings Johnny Gabriel, Jordan Shipley and Ben Waine will all hope to make their debuts.

Rotherham vs Port Vale Odds

Rotherham are rated as a 5/4 chance to get their League 1 campaign off to a winning start at the first attempt, while Port Vale are 21/10, or a 32.3% chance, to build on their feel-good factor and claim three points at the New York Stadium. The draw is available at 5/2.

Over 2.5 goals can be backed at 4/5, with both teams to score at 8/13.

Millers striker Sam Nombe is 11/2 favourite to score the game’s first goal, followed by team-mates Jordan Hugill and Joshua Kayode, and Vale’s Lorent Tolaj all next in the market at 13/2.

Draw @ 5/2

The Valiants claimed 10 away victories on their way to promotion from League 2 last season, and they will fancy their chances of getting something from their opening game of the new campaign at Rotherham.

The Millers had an underwhelming mid-table campaign last term following relegation from the Championship, and it may pay not to expect too much this time either.

Today's Football Fixtures

While it is easy to read too much into pre-season results, a 4-1 loss to Accrington and a 5-0 defeat to Sheffield United illustrate where the problems may be for Matt Hamshaw’s side.

Keeping things tight against the new boys will be a priority, and, with Vale anxious not to be outclassed in their return to the third tier, it would not be a surprise if we witnessed a cagey affair with the teams eventually sharing the spoils.

Bet Builder - Under 3.5 goals, Sam Nombe to score and over 4.5 Rotherham corners @ 9/2

There looks to be a strong chance that this will be quite a cagey game, so under 3.5 goals looks a sensible first element to include in a Bet Builder.

There may be few goals in the game, but Rotherham’s Nombe looks the most likely to play to get on the mark.

He scored 15 times for the Millers last season, netting in three of his final four appearances of the campaign, and can hit the ground running here.

Expect the home side to have more than four corners too, after they averaged 5.59 per game in League 1 last season.

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