Paul Simpson says Carlisle United will be set a “physical” test by a Port Vale side who have bounced back impressively from an opening-day thrashing.
Tomorrow’s opponents lost their first game of the season 7-0 at Barnsley – but are unbeaten since then.
Andy Crosby’s Valiants have won two and drawn one in League One following that hiding at Oakwell, and have also progressed in the Carabao Cup.
The 2022 League Two play-off winners are United’s fifth opponents of the league campaign and Simpson expects a different kind of challenge to those faced by the Blues so far.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for us,” the manager said.
“They’re a big, physical side, and they’ve had a great run since getting smashed on that first game of the season.
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“They’ve had a really good run of results, with a couple of league wins, a cup win and a good draw at Blackpool.
“There are times when they play out from the back through [keeper Connor] Ripley, but in general it tends to be about getting it forward and getting men around the second balls.
“They’ve got forward players who can cause problems and midfielders who have legs about them.
“They’re a big, physical League One side that we’re going to have to be prepared to roll our sleeves up and battle against. We’re going to have to match them.
“We know it’s going to be a big game for us, a big test for us. It’s a fantastic place, with a big, open pitch, we’ve got to use our style and system on a big pitch to be really effective and hope we can nullify any of their threats.”
United have a reasonable recent record at Vale Park, losing just once in their last five visits and winning three times in that spell.
Their last trip to Burslem saw a 0-0 draw under Chris Beech early in the 2021/22 campaign.
Vale, though, have won both their home games so far this term – against Fleetwood Town and Reading.
The Valiants squad is likely to include former Salford City man Jason Lowe, who was widely believed to be the player who was on the brink of signing for Carlisle this summer before Vale made an 11th-hour move to snatch him away from the Blues.
United’s Dan Butterworth and Ryan Edmondson, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to face their former loan club, while Simpson will consider a place in the squad for new striker Terry Ablade.
Of tomorrow’s venue, Simpson added: “It’s a great place to play football.
"It can build up in favour of the home team if you allow it to, but it can also build up in favour of the away team if you play it right.
“That’s the thing that we’ve got to try to do. We’ve got to try to get our start to the game right, get our style of football right, perform well, and see what comes at the end.”
This weekend’s trip is the sixth shortest on the League One calendar for the Cumbrians and a strong travelling support is expected.
“We’ve had good numbers everywhere – even when they’ve been really bad journeys we’ve had good numbers,” Simpson added.
“The supporters have been brilliant and we can’t thank them enough.
“We just hope we can perform, to give them something to make it a good journey home.”
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