League 2 returns on Friday night when there is one match in the division ahead of the main set of fixtures which come along on Saturday. After a week off for the FA Cup all the sides will be looking to get three points under their belts over the weekend.
Newport County host Port Vale at Rodney Parade to get things underway on Friday night in what has suddenly become a much more intriguing match than it might have looked a few weeks ago.
Newport County
To be fair for the first two months of the season the surprise packages in the league was the Welsh outfit but in their last three matches they are without a win. They did put that poor run behind them to see off Walsall in the cup last weekend which they hope will inspire a turnaround in their league form.
Generally in recent times when Newport have come up against a good side they have been beaten. They lost at Luton at the end of September and in this poor spell they have been beaten by Colchester and Notts County with a draw at home to Mansfield sandwiched in between. The Exiles could do with a result here for belief as much as anything.
Port Vale
I tipped Port Vale to be promoted this season and I was made to look a right tit with their start to the season but since they dismissed Michael Brown and brought in Neil Aspin their fortunes have improved and all of a sudden we are seeing the side I expected to see right from the off in this campaign.
Vale went on a recent run of three wins in a row which was topped off by an excellent win at Exeter last month and while they lost their last league game against Swindon we can let them off that as the Robins look like they have hit a bit of a groove. The Valiants showed they got over that loss quickly when they saw off Oxford in the cup last weekend.
Team News
Newport County remain without their captain Joss Labadie which is a blow. He has a hamstring injury while Calaum Jahraldo-Martin is out with the same issue.
Port Vale will be without Joe Davis and Tyrone Barnett once again as thigh and groin injuries have them sidelined. Chris Regis made his debut in the midweek Checkatrade Trophy win and might have done enough to earn a start here.
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Betting
If this match was a few weeks ago I would either have left it alone or maybe chanced a bet on the home side but now that we are finally seeing the Port Vale that I expected to see at the beginning of the season I am happy to be on the visitors here.
They have really picked up under Neil Aspin and given his links with the club the vibes around the Vale should be good at the minute. They lost their last league match but have picked up back-to-back cup wins since then so their confidence should be high and I fancy they will get a result in this game at the very least but the way the two teams are trending I can see a Vale win.
Tips
HALF WON – Back Port Vale (+0.25AH) to beat Newport County for a 4/10 stake at 2.05 with BetVictor
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