Scunthorpe United produced a spirited response to the mauling at the hands of Exeter when they travelled to Carlisle, leading by two goals in the first half thanks to their set piece threat and while the Iron could not hang on for all three points, Neil Cox can certainly take positives. Port Vale, meanwhile, have climbed into League Two's Play-Off places thanks to a return of three wins from their last four games, which have been thanks largely to their defensive solidity, inspired by those new and old: Lewis Cass looks an excellent capture from Hartlepool, but stalwart Nathan Smith is doing the business as ever. If Vale can deal with Scunthorpe's set piece threat, they will go a long way to keeping a fifth clean sheet of the campaign. 0:1
Jai Rowe, Tom Pugh and Devarn Green could come in for Myles Hippolyte, Alex Perry and Jake Scrimshaw. Dan Gallimore has come back after a sore thigh. On key striker Ryan Loft, Cox said: "We saw a specialist on Wednesday regarding Lofty and are going to need a second opinion, just to work on the timescale, and that will hopefully be next week. He's been doing running on the training ground though." Key destroyer Alex Kenyon (hamstring) is getting closer to contention, while on-loan goalkeeper Tom Billson is set to miss another three weeks with a knee injury. Devante Rodney serves the second of a three-match ban for violent conduct. Veteran centre-back Leon Legge will be out for another two months, so Nathan Smith could start in the middle of the back-three. Brad Walker is a doubt, so Tom Conlon, Tom Pett and Ben Garrity could be Vale's midfield trio.
Jai Rowe, Tom Pugh and Devarn Green could come in for Myles Hippolyte, Alex Perry and Jake Scrimshaw. Dan Gallimore has come back after a sore thigh. On key striker Ryan Loft, Cox said: "We saw a specialist on Wednesday regarding Lofty and are going to need a second opinion, just to work on the timescale, and that will hopefully be next week. He's been doing running on the training ground though." Key destroyer Alex Kenyon (hamstring) is getting closer to contention, while on-loan goalkeeper Tom Billson is set to miss another three weeks with a knee injury. Devante Rodney serves the second of a three-match ban for violent conduct. Veteran centre-back Leon Legge will be out for another two months, so Nathan Smith could start in the middle of the back-three. Brad Walker is a doubt, so Tom Conlon, Tom Pett and Ben Garrity could be Vale's midfield trio.
Scunthorpe United produced a spirited response to the mauling at the hands of Exeter when they travelled to Carlisle, leading by two goals in the first half thanks to their set piece threat and while the Iron could not hang on for all three points, Neil Cox can certainly take positives. Port Vale, meanwhile, have climbed into League Two's Play-Off places thanks to a return of three wins from their last four games, which have been thanks largely to their defensive solidity, inspired by those new and old: Lewis Cass looks an excellent capture from Hartlepool, but stalwart Nathan Smith is doing the business as ever. If Vale can deal with Scunthorpe's set piece threat, they will go a long way to keeping a fifth clean sheet of the campaign. 0:1
Port Vale 
Port Vale 
Scunthorpe United VS Port Vale 