Preview: Port Vale vs Huddersfield Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Two sides fighting at opposite ends of the League One table will meet at Vale Park on Saturday, as Port Vale welcome Huddersfield Town.

The hosts sit 11 points adrift of safety and at the foot of the division after a midweek defeat, while their visitors returned to the top six with a victory last time out.

Match preview

Port Vale head back into League One action on Saturday in desperate need of a return to winning ways for their slim survival hopes, having suffered a setback in midweek after last week's FA Cup heroics.

They have sat at the foot of England's third tier for almost the entirety of the campaign after last year's promotion, but Jon Brady's side showed signs of life in late February, beating Northampton Town and managing draws against Luton Town and Reading to move onto 27 points for the season from 32 games.

A pair of memorable FA Cup wins then followed for the Valiants to secure their passage to the quarter-finals, firstly beating Bristol City thanks to Ben Waine's extra time goal, before he again scored the winner against top-flight Sunderland in another 1-0 victory last weekend.

Buoyant from those cup triumphs and a five-game unbeaten streak, Jon Brady's men hosted promotion-chasing Bradford City on Wednesday but failed to continue their good form, instead falling to a 2-0 defeat as Bobby Pointon and Tyreik Wright got on the scoresheet for the visitors.

With the excitement of an FA Cup quarter-final trip to Chelsea looming, but now sitting 11 points adrift of safety with 13 games left, albeit with games in hand on those above them, Port Vale need to put a winning run together in the coming weeks to stand a chance of staging a major escape in the run-in.

In their way stand a visiting team fighting to strengthen their position in the top six after a victory last time out.

Liam Manning arrived at the Accu Stadium in January to lead an underperforming Huddersfield Town side's League One playoff bid, and he made a strong start, overseeing three victories and a draw in his first four league games at the helm.

A tougher run then followed in February for the Terriers, who, alongside an EFL Trophy exit, suffered three losses in a four-match span leaving them outside the top six after a 1-0 away defeat to Wigan Athletic.

Aiming to bounce back and put those slip-ups behind them, Manning's men hosted Rotherham United for a Yorkshire derby last weekend and prevailed in a tight contest, as Lenny Agbaire's own goal 14 minutes from time made the only difference between the teams.

Now back in sixth spot but only leading two sides in the chasing pack by a single point and ninth-placed Wycombe Wanderers by two, Huddersfield Town will be keen to make it back-to-back three-point hauls on Saturday to begin solidifying their position in the playoff spots.

Port Vale League One form:

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Port Vale form (all competitions):

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Huddersfield Town League One form:

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Huddersfield Town form (all competitions):

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Team News

Port Vale continue to deal with a long injury list, as Ben Heneghan, Cameron Humphreys, Ryan Croasdale, George Byers, Ben Garrity, Martin Sherif and Jayden Stockley should all remain sidelined.

Brady may shuffle his pack where possible after a testing schedule, with the likes of Grant Ward, Jordan Shipley and Ethon Archer in line to come back in from the outset.

Andre Gray will hope to continue up front alongside Waine, who has managed eight goals this season including the winners against Bristol City and Sunderland.

Huddersfield will likely remain unable to call on Jack Whatmough, Joe Low, Lynden Gooch, Marcus McGuane and Bojan Radulovic due to ongoing injuries.

They may be unchanged from last week's victory, other than a possible alteration at the back with Radinio Balker having been withdrawn for Josh Feeney at the interval in that game.

Antony Evans will hope to continue in the midfield, having started for the first time in an injury-hit season last Saturday, while Marcus Harness and Ryan Hardie should continue in attack.

Port Vale possible starting lineup:

Gauci; Magloire, John, C Hall; Lawrence-Gabriel, Walters, G Hall, Shipley; Waine, Gray, Archer

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:

Nicholls; Feeney, Wallace, Roughan; Mumba, Ledson, Humphreys, Evans, Ashia; Harness, Hardie

We say: Port Vale 1-2 Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield Town have been unpredictable this season, both before and during Manning's tenure, often failing to live up to the quality in their ranks.

We back them to take all three points, though, on the back of a crucial victory last time out and against a Port Vale side who saw a busy and difficult schedule take its toll in a midweek defeat.

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