Two struggling sides will face off when Exeter City welcome Port Vale to St James Park for Saturday's League One contest.

The hosts, who are languishing in 20th position, are only two points clear of the relegation zone, while the Valiants are just one point better off in 19th place.

Match preview

Exeter enjoyed a promising start to the League One campaign, winning five of their opening eight matches to leave them top of the table after a 1-0 win over Cheltenham Town on September 16.

Unbeknown to Exeter at the time, that narrow victory remains their most recent league win due to a dramatic drop off in form that has seen them lose eight of their last 10 matches.

After suffering heavy defeats to Fleetwood Town and Bolton Wanderers, the Grecians may have been relieved to play out a goalless draw in their most recent outing against Shrewsbury Town.

While they may have been pleased with the clean sheet, the Grecians continue to experience difficulties in the final third, having failed to score in eight of their last 10 league games.

With Exeter desperate to offer a dramatic improvement in the final third, they may be able to take confidence from their most recent home meeting with Port Vale, which produced a commanding 4-0 victory in August 2022.

Like their hosts, Port Vale also made a positive start to the campaign, winning five and drawing one of their opening six games.

The Valiants have experienced a similar decline to that of Exeter, having failed to win any of their last 11 league games (D3, L8) since beating Northampton Town in mid-September.

After finishing last month with consecutive league defeats, Port Vale have begun December with two cup fixtures.

Firstly, they played out a 1-1 draw with Stevenage to send their second-round FA Cup tie to a replay, before their EFL Trophy campaign came to an end with a 2-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers in Tuesday's away fixture.

Port Vale will now turn their attention back to league action, and they will be looking to claim their third away win of the League One season and their first since beating Oxford United 2-1 at the Kassam Stadium on September 2.

Team News

Exeter remain without the services of Demetri Mitchell, who is set to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

After dropping down to the bench last weekend, Tom Carroll could come back into the midfield for Saturday's contest.

Caldwell could also be tempted to make a change up front, with James Scott in contention to replace Cheick Diabate.

Port Vale are still unable to call upon Mitchell Clark, Dan Jones, James Wilson and Josh Thomas, who are all missing through injury.

Ollie Arblaster and Alfie Devine are both doubtful for Saturday's contest after missing Port Vale's last two matches due to injury issues.

There are also concerns surrounding the fitness of James Plant, who was forced off against Stevenage last weekend with a shoulder problem.

Exeter City possible starting lineup:
Sinisalo; Sweeney, Aimson, Jules; Nisaknen, Carroll, Trevitt, Wildschut; Rankine, Aitchison; Scott

Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Ripley; Debrah, Lowe, Smith; Sang, Walters, Ojo, Grant; Chislett, Garrity; Ikpeazu

We say: Exeter City 1-1 Port Vale

Both teams will be desperate to claim all three points following a poor run of results, but we think that a lack of confidence in the two squads could result in a cagey affair finishing honours even.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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