Port Vale to gain promotion to League One
Mansfield Town and Port Vale will contest the EFL League Two play-off final at Wembley on Saturday afternoon with a place in the third tier at stake. The Stags have been rolling the dice for years to try to achieve that without success, whilst their opponents have overcome off-the-pitch tumult to reach this stage. Read our preview here:
Hall of Oates
The Stags won both legs of their semi-final against a Northampton Town side that had missed out on automatic promotion by the narrowest of margins to Bristol Rovers, and Nigel Clough will have a fully fit roster to select from. No single player has dominated in terms of their goal contributions, with a fairly even distribution across the group. Stephen McLaughlin has chipped in a combined total of 14 from left-back, with forward Jordan Bowery producing a similar figure. Rhys Oates is deployed through the middle in a 4-3-3, and his early strike against the Cobblers set the tone for the two fixtures.
Teacher's Pett
On the eve of kick-off, manager Darrell Clarke signed a contract extension, taking his deal up to 2027. The former Walsall boss had to take a long period out of the second half of the regular campaign because of a close family bereavement, only coming back in a phased way earlier this month to the dugout to help guide the Burslem outfit to London via a tense penalty shoot-out triumph over Swindon Town. Three players have hit double figures for goals in 2021/2022, and all three (Ben Garrity, James Wilson, and Jamie Proctor) should feature, all whilst having a metronomic midfield behind them. Experienced figure Tom Pett has been instrumental in the Valiants' double pivot, and his grip on games when they're big occasions will be key.
Betting tip
It's bound to be a closely fought affair at Wembley, but Port Vale's stirring story this season and the momentum they have is hard to ignore. Casumo have odds of 2.70 for Port Vale to seal passage back to League One after five years away in normal time.
