🏏 Sun, 8 Mar 2026 13:30 GMT
Port Vale
vs
Sunderland AFC
5-4-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- An FA Cup fourth-round tie, as League Two (fourth-tier) Port Vale host newly promoted Premier League side Sunderland. Having beaten Bristol City after extra time in the previous round, Port Vale look to pull off a further giant-killing.
- Port Vale set up in a defensive, counter-attacking 5-4-1. The strategy is clear: pack a defensive block with five at the back and fight Sunderland's possession with counters. In the matchup with Sunderland's 4-2-3-1, the battle out wide holds the key.
- Sunderland's player to watch is Chris Rigg. A talent who, at 18, was named EFL Championship Apprentice of the Year, he is stationed in the hole. Will the talent rated as ready-made for the Premier League stage make his presence felt in the cup too?
- Sunderland's Granit Xhaka starts on the bench. The timing of introducing the Switzerland captain, who won the Premier League and Bundesliga with Arsenal and Leverkusen respectively, could be a game-changing trump card.
- Sunderland's midfield lines up Enzo Le Fee and Habib Diarra. Le Fee is a France international midfielder, adept at playing in tight spaces, whose permanent move from Roma was secured, while Diarra is a Senegal international who joined for a club-record 30 million pounds. The quality of these two embodies the gap in division.
- Sunderland's right winger, Chemsdine Talbi, is a 20-year-old Morocco international who joined from Club Brugge for around 16.5 million pounds. Nilson Angulo is stationed on the left, and the threat from both flanks is the key to breaking down Port Vale's back five.
- Port Vale goalkeeper Joe Gauci is the last line of a stout defence. How many shots a fourth-tier club's keeper can deny against a Premier League side raises hopes of the kind of hero-making scenario unique to the cup.
- Sunderland are a side on a roll, having earned promotion to the Premier League in the 2025-26 season. With a squad capable of a deep FA Cup run, they are in a position where dropping points against lower-ranked opposition cannot be allowed.