Crewe Alex v Port Vale 24/25 Preview - Please Win

Let's just get some facts out the way. Port Vale are a bigger club than Crewe Alex. They are. They have more home fans than the Alex and take significantly more fans on the road. There's no shame in admitting these things. But whilst Port Vale fans don't consider this fixture a derby, I'd argue that most Crewe fans definitely do. So I hope that this is taken on board by both the Alex's management and their players. I don't want to hear talk of it being just another game. It's not. It means more to Alex fans than that I'd wager. This is my preview of the Vale's visit to Gresty Road for the first time in almost 5 1/2 years:

One Side

There will be a different dynamic to this game in the sense that the Alex's hierarchy have elected to only give Port Vale fans the away end and not the Railway End as well, as they have done in previous visits by the Vale. This has led to a lot of fury amongst Vale supporters, but to be honest I'm a fan of this decision. Yes, it might cost the club a bit of money in lost revenue, but there is no reason to give them 2 sides the stadium and hand them more of an advantage.

Win

I desperately want to end the Vale's run of form over the Alex. It's unbearable how much they've run the table in this fixture for the last 10 years. In the last 11 matchups, the Alex are 1-2-7 and have scored a poxy 6 goals. They haven't beaten the Vale at home since 2014 and that run needs to end. I hope Jack Lankester's late goal at Vale Park back in November signals a turning of the fortunes in this fixture, because I am on my knees, begging them to win this one.

Realistic

However, I understand that demanding a win might not be super realistic. The Vale are a good team with quality throughout their line up. Jayden Stockley, Ronan Curtis and Laurent Tolaj make a dangerous trio and the rest of the squad is stacked as well. Ben Garrity, George Byers, Ryan Croasdale, Connor Hall, Ben Heneghan, they have proven quality throughout. They've lost 7 games in the league, the fewest in the division. They are a very tough team to beat.

Away Struggles

That being said, Port Vale's away form has dipped since their great initial run at the start of the season. They were 6-1-2 in the middle of November on the road and they looked imperious. However, since then, they have now gone 1-6-3 in their last 10 away games and that sole win, whilst impressive, was a narrow 2-1 victory at Doncaster. They've needed to come from behind late on against Cheltenham, Swindon and Fleetwood in that 10 game run, suggesting their form could have looked a lot worse.

Whilst they look decent at home, there is definitely a vulnerability to them away from home which the Alex need to exploit.

Home Struggles

But, the Alex are dealing with issues of their own on home soil. Their draw with Doncaster, whilst respectable, meant they have now won 3 of their last 10 games at home. It's in this stat alone that not only has a potential push for the top 3 gone up in smoke, but also potentially their hopes of a play-off spot.

Still, all is not lost. Of their last 8 games, 5 come at home. If they can turn Gresty Road into a fortress once again and pick up 10-12 points from those games, then they'll be in with a real shout at finishing in the top 7. But it's a big if at the moment.

Fatigue

I mention this for both sides. The Alex last week looked leggy in their all round play and I'm hoping with them being back at home, this won't be an issue for them again, despite the early kick off.

As for the Vale, in the time between the Alex finishing their game with Notts County and kicking off in this game, they will have played twice against Morecambe and Barrow. Ok, they were both home games, but it's still 2 energy sapping games which will leave them more fatigued than the Alex. Well, I hope so anyway.

Ref Watch

Martin Coy

Coy takes charge of his 2nd Alex game this season, having done their season opener against Barrow. He's not a very remarkable ref, only averaging 3.2 yellows per game. The Alex's record under him is pretty good though, which is hopefully a good omen.

2024/25 Record: 23 Games(1 Championship, 10 League One, 8 League Two, 1 National League, 3 FA Cup), 73 yellows, 1 red

Last Game: Rotherham United 1-1 Exeter City, EFL League One, 15th March 2025, 1 Yellow

Crewe Alex Record: 7-1-3, 14 yellows

Injuries/Absences

Crewe Alex

The Alex's injury picture is looking pretty good right now. Whilst Nathan Robinson, Charlie Finney, James Connolly and Shilow Tracey obviously remain sidelined, they are the only 4. Well, at least I hope it's only 4, as they will be sweating on Jack Lankester, who missed last week's game with a tight quad.

Port Vale

Ben Heneghan, George Byers and Ethan Chislett were all missing for their midweek game against Barrow, with the latter 2 hugely influential players when fit. Still, they're pretty stacked for quality and depth and are in good health overall.

Team

Bin. Off. The. Back. 5. It's really that simple and I'm going to keep saying it until it happens. Will Lee Bell do it though? No, I suspect not. But for me, he runs the risk of having the fans turn against him should they play with a back 5 and struggle to attack or create chances again.

Go with the 4-3-3. Mickey and Connor at the back with Billington and Conway at full back. Have a 3 man midfield of Thomas, Lowery and either Sanders or Powell, don't care who. I'll say Powell as he's a bit more creative. Then put Tabiner, Hemmings and Holicek as the front 3. Yes, it might leave the team a bit more more exposed at the back on occasions, but I'd hope it'll bring more control in midfield and more cohesion in attack.

What I suspect will happen is Billington moves to RWB, Williams comes into LCB, Cooney drops to the bench and the rest of the team stays the same as it was last week. Which would be a mistake in my opinion.

Score Prediction

I have no confidence in the Alex right now. They can't win games by tight margins, of which this will undoubtedly be decided by them. I've seen this script before. A tight cagey 0-0, the Vale snatch a goal, probably from a set piece and then the Alex huff and puff, throw everything at them but ultimately fall short. I'm mentally prepared for it, as I wrote this last Sunday and my thoughts haven't changed on it since.

Crewe Alexandra 0-1 Port Vale