Port Vale
- Port Vale are unbeaten in three home games (W2, D1), but have won only four of 21 at home in League One (D8, L9).
- Port Vale are in trouble at the other end of the standings, 23rd in the table with 35 points from 40 matches.
- They utilise a three at the back setup with wing-backs, and look to press compactly and aggressively when out of possession.
- They are much more organised and much better at closing down opponents now, but still struggle for quality in the attacking third.
- Ben Waine has bagged a respectable three goals in 22 League One appearances to be Port Vale’s top scorer this season, but they have struggled to find the net all season.
Wigan Athletic
- Wigan Athletic are in decent form with three wins, one draw, and one defeat from their last five games.
- Wigan Athletic are in a decent position in League One with 55 points from 43 games, sitting comfortably in the middle of the table in 13th position.
- Wigan manager Gary Caldwell has had time to shape his Wigan Athletic squad to his style of play since taking charge in February 2026, and has made them a much more formidable outfit since then.
- Port Vale are in reasonable form, but Wigan are on a three-game winning streak and they have a bit more threat going forward.
Head-to-Head
The Latics last met Port Vale five months ago, edging to a 1-0 home win.
Key Players
- A matchup of two similar, but contrasting systems will make for an interesting tactical chess game on Sunday, and I expect the battle of the wing-backs to be crucial to determining the result.
- Ben Waine has bagged a respectable three goals in 22 League One appearances to be Port Vale’s top scorer this season, but they have struggled to find the net all season.
- Joe Taylor is their counterpart at Wigan, and he has bagged 15 in 37 in the third tier, netting two in his last five.
Betting Insights
- Take a Wigan win at the tempting odds of 2.44.
- The Latics are averaging 1.19 goals per game away from home, having scored 25 away goals this term, and they should have enough to outscore a Port Vale side that have conceded an average of 1.10 goals per home game, letting in 23 in total.
Prediction
Both teams are currently in very different states to where they were then, however, and Wigan are the favorites to take all three points on Sunday.
