Latics are back in League Two action as Keith Curle oversees his first game as Head Coach (7pm KO).
The 57-year old was appointed on Monday and has a wealth of experience in the Football League, most recently with Northampton Town who he was able to lead to promotion last season.
Last time out for Oldham was a rare goalless draw at Boundary Park against Southend United.
Form Guide
Port Vale currently find themselves in a poor run of form with just one win in their last 11 games in all competitions.
They have picked up just two points from their last six games.
This run has seen Vale drop down the table dramatically down to 21st place in the table, they are five points worse off than Latics.
The Valiants’ last six:
- Cheltenham Town 3-2 Port Vale
- Salford City 1-0 Port Vale
- Port Vale 0-1 Cambridge United
- Port Vale 0-0 Stevenage
- Leyton Orient 1-1 Port Vale
- Tranmere Rovers 3-1 Port Vale
Head-to-Head
Meetings: 82
Latics wins: 29
Port Vale wins: 33
Draws: 20
Scored: 111
Conceded: 100
When the sides met at Boundary Park earlier in the season, it was Vale who got the better of things, winning 2-1.
Goals from Nathan Smith and Mitchell Clark gave the Valiants a two goal lead at the break but a 49th minute goal from Zak Dearnley halved the deficit.
Unfortunately, Latics couldn’t find a leveller and it remained 2-1.
Team News
It looks like Zak Dearnley is out of action for an extended period with another injury.
Marcus Barnes, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Sido Jombati are all battling recent knocks and may also miss out.
Harry Clarke has returned to his parent club for a short period to treat his injury which is a recurrence of the one from earlier in the season.
Kyle Jameson serves the second game of his three game suspension after his sending off against Bolton with Ben Garrity working hard to regain fitness and get back in the matchday squad.
Interesting Info
- We’ve scored more this season so far than in 26 complete previous away campaigns.
- We have more points so far away from home than in 75 other complete campaigns.
- We’ve never lost at home on March 9 (P9 W7 D2 L0 scored 17 conceded 6), but never won away (P8 W0 D4 L4, scored 7 conceded 12).
- Last time out on March 9, one of Paul Scholes’s 7 games - a 1-1 draw at Cambridge.
- We beat Man United 1-0 OTD in 1993.
- Most recent win 2010 against Leyton Orient (2-0 at home).
- Overall record: P82 W29 D20 L33 Scored 111 Conceded 100
- So +11 goal difference but lost four more than we’ve won against Port Vale.
- Record at Vale Park: P41 W7 D10 L24 Scored 38 Conceded 62
- First ever match April 1924, won 2-0 at home.
- But unbeaten there in our last five: W2 D3 Scored 8 Conceded 4.
- Biggest wins: 5-1 in 1934 and 1936 at home. Have won nine times by three goals (1928, 1931, 1937, 1952 (A), 1996, 2000, 2005, 2008 (A) and 2018 (A)).
- Biggest loss by three goals, five times.
- Five goalless draws, three of them in the last five years.
Watch Out For
Devante Rodney is someone Latics will have to keep an eye out for.
The 22-year-old forward is enjoying a decent first season at Vale Park and has nine goals and three assists to his name so far this season.
Comfortable anywhere across the front three, Rodney played a big part in Vale’s last victory when he scored two of his side’s five in the win over Southend United.
Rodney had been part of youth set ups at Manchester City and Sheffield Wednesday but made his senior debut in the North East with Hartlepool United.
After impressing with Pools, he went on to play for Salford City and helped the club to win promotion to the Football League for the first time.
Whilst with the Ammies, he also had loan spells with Halifax Town and Stockport County.
The pacey forward joined Port Vale in July 2020 and he has already established himself as a regular starter. He was nominated for League Two player of the month following his impressive run in December.
Familiar Face
Full back Zak Mills is likely to make an appearance against Latics tonight. The Vale defender joined them in the summer following a spell at Boundary Park.
Mills has played 18 times in the league for his current club but he missed out the last game between the two sides due to injury.
He looks set to play against his former club this time around after he played the full 90 minutes in Vale’s last outing.
The other clubs that Mills has played for in his career so far are: Histon, Boston United, Grimbsy Town and Morecambe.
In The Dugout
Darrell Clarke is the man in the dugout for the hosts.
Appointed on the 15th of February 2021, Clarke is still in pursuit of his first win as Port Vale manager.
He joined Vale from Walsall and left to join Vale with Walsall 11th in the League Two table.
The 42-year-old’s most notable achievement in management to date is guiding Bristol Rovers from the Conference to League One with back to back promotions.
As a player, Clarke represented; Mansfield Town, Hartlepool United, Stockport City, Port Vale, Rochdale and Salisbury City.
Stadium
Vale Park
Capacity: 19,052
Record attendance: 49768 v Aston Villa 20.02.1960
Opened: 24th August 1950
Match Officials
Tonight's referee is Kevin Johnson.
Taking charge of 22 games so far this season, he has handed out 61 bookings and four red cards.
This will be his first fixture involving Latics in the 2020/21 campaign, with his last Oldham game being the goalless midweek encounter at Stevenage last January.
He will be assisted by Richard Bartlett and Abbas Khan. Anthony Moore is the Fourth Official.
Sky Bet Odds
Port Vale are favourites to return to winning ways and they are priced at 5/4 to do just that.
Latics are out at 19/10 whilst 12/5 is for the draw.
Please gamble responsibly by clicking here. For more information visit: www.begambleaware.org
How To Follow The Game
Because the game is classed as behind-closed-doors, supporters can tune into a live match stream with commentary available for all subscribers on iFollow Latics, as Roy Butterworth and Michael Brown talk you through the action.
This match is available as a live stream for the fee of £10 by clicking here.
In the current environment, there is a greater dependence on match streaming than ever before.
As a result iFollow generates one of the only revenue streams available to clubs through these financial challenges.
Piracy - and illegal streaming of matches - does not only carry the risk of potential criminal action, but also has a greater financial impact on clubs while supporters are unable to attend matches.
The EFL's campaign would like to not only convey the message that piracy is immoral and illegal, but that it is also financially damaging club's across the divisions.
For more information on the campaign and iFollow, click here.
Alternatively, supporters can also follow the game with live updates on the club's official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.