Football – England – League Two
Saturday 15th December 2012 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
It’s a top of the table clash next up in League Two as hosts Cheltenham Town take on Port Vale with both clubs needing all three points to keep pace with league leaders Gillingham as they face off at Whaddon Road.
Cheltenham have recorded back-to-back wins recently following back-to-back losses with wins over Barnet and Northampton Town following defeats at Rotherham and Chesterfield but the two losses were away from home. This bears some significance actually as The Robins are unbeaten in their last seven matches at home and this run includes six straight wins over Oxford United, Morecambe, Plymouth Argyle, Exeter City, Burton Albion and Barnet with a draw against Fleetwood Town.
Cheltenham’s home record stands at 7-1-2 16/10 with leading scorers being Chris Zebroski and Shaun Harrad (5 goals apiece) along with midfielder Darren Carter ( 4 goals), Kaid Mohamed (3 goals) and Billy Jones (8 assists) providing most of the ammunition, they possess enough in their armoury to not get beaten at home here.
Port Vale make the trip south west on the back of a surprising 0-2 defeat at home to Chesterfield last weekend which cost them ground on leaders Gillingham and was just their second home loss of the season. Port Vale have recently drawn with Southend United and York City along with victories over lowly Bristol Rovers and Aldershot Town, but they now face a different proposition in a trip to Cheltenham.
The Valiants have lost just once in their last nine away matches which was at Northampton Town but they also possess a solid away record of 6-2-2 18/10 with forward Tom Pope (19 goals, 6 assists) catching more than one scout’s eye I daresay and he has support from Jennison Myrie-Williams (5 goals, 6 assists), Ashley Vincent (5 goals, 5 assists), Ben Williamson (5 goals) and Louis Dodds (4 goals) in a strong attacking unit.
However, I still feel Cheltenham Town have the slight edge here with home advantage and despite being very tempted to go for the draw here with the extra value, I’ve decided to back Cheltenham with the round ball as they might just nick it – a 1-1 draw is likely though.
Pick: Cheltenham Town AH0 (Draw No Bet) @ 1.83 Pinnacle
