Port Vale vs Middlesbrough Prediction: Boro to win entertaining cup clash

The two lowest-ranked teams left in this season’s EFL Cup meet in the quarter-finals at Vale Park on Tuesday, as League One Port Vale play host to Middlesbrough from the Championship.

Vale sit 15th in the third tier following Saturday’s victory over Wigan and they are bidding to make it through to the last four of the EFL Cup for the very first time.

Boro have much more experience of going far in this competition, as they lifted the trophy in 2004 off the back of reaching the final in consecutive years in 1997 and 1998.

Match Odds

Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough ended a three-game losing streak at Swansea last time out and they will start this match as the 9/10 favourites to win in 90 minutes, with Vale priced at 11/4 and the draw at 11/4.

A place in the semi-finals may be at stake on Tuesday, but these two sides remain outsiders to go on and lift the trophy, with Boro available at 18/1 in the outright market and Vale 250/1.

Team News

Vale manager Andy Crosby will once again have to make do without injured trio Mitchell Clark, Dan Jones and Josh Thomas, while the match is also likely to come too soon for forward James Wilson, who is at least closing in on a return after over two months out with a calf issue.

Goalkeeper Tom Glover has featured in all four of Boro’s EFL Cup ties this season and the likelihood of him coming into the line-up on Tuesday has increased following the knock picked up by No.1 Seny Dieng late in Saturday’s win at Swansea.

Paddy McNair, Tommy Smith, Darragh Lenihan, Hayden Hackney, Lewis O’Brien, Riley McGree and Marcus Forss all remain on Boro’s treatment table.

Middlesbrough to win and both teams to score @ 12/5

For the fifth round in a row in this season’s EFL Cup, Boro have been handed an away draw, but having already seen off Huddersfield, Bolton, Bradford and Exeter to reach the quarter-finals, they justify their tag as favourites to get the better of Port Vale.

Three of Boro’s four victories in this season’s competition have seen both teams score and that also proved to be the case as they battled to a 2-1 win at Swansea last time out.

Boro have scored in eight of their last nine matches, but have also kept just two clean sheets over the same period and that will give Vale hope of notching against their Championship opponents.

This will be the first time that Vale have faced a team from a higher division in this season’s EFL Cup and given they have kept just one clean sheet in their last seven, they may see their ‘Valiant’ cup run ended on Tuesday night.

Emmanuel Latte Lath anytime scorer @ 13/8

After a relatively slow start to his Middlesbrough career, Ivorian forward Emmanuel Latte Lath has found his feet of late, netting three in his last four appearances to take his tally for the season to seven.

Two of those goals have come in the previous two rounds of the EFL Cup against Bradford and Exeter, with the latter strike proving to be the decisive effort in a 3-2 victory for Carrick’s team.

That winner against Exeter also came from the penalty spot and Latte Lath could be a primary candidate to step up from 12 yards if Boro are awarded another penalty on Tuesday, increasing the likelihood of the former Atalanta youngster finding the back of the net.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.