Wolverhampton and Port Vale meet in Round 1 of the EFL Cup. CheckLive's data has no favourite for this tie, which makes it a genuinely open contest; a draw is fully part of the picture.
Wolverhampton's recent results are mostly from pre-season friendlies: they beat Racing de Santander 3-0, Doncaster 2-0 and Maidenhead 1-0, lost 2-1 to Real Sociedad, and drew 1-1 with Burnley in the Premier League. Port Vale's form is also built on friendlies — wins over Blackpool, Real Murcia, Wigan and Tamworth, plus a draw with Bournemouth U21. Their 5-0 win over Tamworth stands out, but these are warm-up games rather than competitive league form.
There is no recorded head-to-head between the two clubs, so past meetings offer no clue. The big question is how quickly both sides shake off pre-season habits and adjust to the demands of a competitive cup tie. With CheckLive unable to split them, the sensible view is that this could go either way, and a draw would be no surprise.
