Swindon Town are looking to do the double over Port Vale as they travel to Vale Park for their League Two playoff semi-final second leg. Both clubs have shown contrasting form in recent weeks and with the hosts struggling at the moment, Swindon will be confident of once again claiming the upper hand.
It was a disappointing outing for Port Vale in the first leg as they were beaten 2-1 by Swindon Town. They were second best throughout the contest and fell two goals down before James Wilson provided a lifeline with an effort seven minutes from time.
While Port Vale will be looking to build on that late goal from Wilson, their recent record has been poor. That result means Darrell Clarke's men have lost four of their last five League Two matches.
Things have been just as bad for Port Vale at Vale Park, where they have lost their last two matches and conceded five goals in both fixtures.
Despite conceding a late goal, Swindon Town will be generally satisfied with their performance in the first leg. They raced to a two-goal lead thanks to a brace from Harry McKirdy and could have gone on to win by more but for some poor finishing.
That result is an extension of Swindon Town’s excellent form in the final weeks of the regular season. Ben Garner’s men have now suffered just one defeat in their last seven League Two matches, claiming six wins in that run.
Swindon Town have also been impressive on their recent travels, winning their last three away matches. While they have shown their attacking quality with 10 goals in that run, their backline line has also been pivotal with just one goal conceded in their last four matches on the road.
How the bookies view it
Port Vale have the upper hand among the bookies with Coral offering 23/20 for a home win. A victory for Swindon Town is valued at 23/10 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 12/5 by Betfred.
Recent head to head
Recent meetings have gone the way of Swindon Town, who have now won three of the last four matches against Port Vale. The Robins also claimed a 3-1 win on their last visit to Vale Park back in January.
Players to watch
After giving Port Vale a lifeline in the first leg, James Wilson will be the one to watch on Thursday. The attacker has now scored in his last two matches and is priced at 23/10 by Paddy Power to maintain that run.
Harry McKirdy will be the one to watch for Swindon Town after taking his tally to 22 goals for the season with his brace in the first leg. The attacker was also on target on his last visit to Vale Park and is priced at 13/5 by Paddy Power to find the net on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There were over 3.5 goals in the previous meeting at Vale Park and given the attacking quality on both sides, a repeat could be considered at 13/5 with BetVictor. Over 2.5 goals can also be on the cards at evens with William Hill while SBK is offering odds of 4/5 on both teams to score.
There were more goals after the break in the first leg so the second half could be tipped as the highest scoring half on Thursday at 6/5 with Paddy Power.
This English League Two match between Port Vale and Swindon Town will be played on May 19, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Port Vale vs Swindon Town prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
