WANDERERS welcome League Two Port Vale to the UniBol in their first EFL Trophy fixture of the season.

Ian Evatt’s men enter the game on the back of a frustrating 1-0 defeat against Cambridge United over the weekend.

Team news

Elias Kachunga is in line to make his first start at the UniBol after joining on a free transfer over the summer.

However, Wanderers will be without Josh Sheehan following his Wales call-up, and Will Aimson who only recently returned to training.

The Whites are also waiting on the results of a scan on Kieran Lee’s injured groin.

Opposition lowdown

Vale finished 13th in League Two last season under Darrell Clarke and enter the game on the back of a 2-0 win at Forest Green Rovers over the weekend.

The squad saw lots of changes over the summer, with Tom Pope, Scott Brown and Luke Joyce among the players who left Vale Park.

Head-to-head

  • Wanderers have faced Vale 38 times in their history, with a record of 25 wins, 10 draws and just three defeats
  • The Whites were beaten 6-3 when the sides last met at the UniBol back in December 2020

Last meeting

Wanderers ran-out 1-0 winners after a tight contest at Vale Park when the sides last met in League Two back in March.

Gethin Jones got the decisive goal with a clinical finish from the edge of the box just after the hour mark.

It was another vital three points for Evatt’s men in the race for promotion to the third tier.

Predicted XI

The Bolton News: