Rotherham United host newly promoted Port Vale at the AESSEAL New York Stadium on the opening day of the League One season.
League One
Our Three Predictions For Rotherham United vs Port Vale
- First Prediction: Rotherham United To Win – 11/10
- Second Prediction: Both Teams To Score – 31/50
- Third Prediction: Over 2.5 Goals – 3/4
First Prediction For Rotherham United vs Port Vale – Rotherham United To Win – 11/10
Rotherham United entered League One last season full of optimism. The return of Steve Evans seemed to galvanise the club and an array of new faces made them one of the favourites to secure an instant return back to the Championship. Fast forward to the end of March, Evans was gone and replaced by Matt Hamshaw, who picked up three wins from seven to secure a disappointing 13th-placed finish. The Millers are hoping for a more productive campaign and seem to have been more sensible in the transfer market. However, they have been tipped by many to struggle once again and will need a result to get the fans onside from the off. Recent friendly hammerings from Sheffield United and Accrington Stanley haven’t helped but it’s difficult to read into pre-season and they will be hoping to start with three points against one of the newly promoted teams.
The last few months of the League Two season was an incredible watch, with seemingly nobody wanting to earn promotion. Having endured a mid-season blip, Port Vale recovered to eventually finish in the top three and return to League One at the first time of asking. Ben Waine and Jordan Gabriel are decent acquisitions and it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility to see them come away from the AESSEAL New York Stadium with at least a point. However, we opting for a narrow home win.
Second Prediction For Rotherham United vs Port Vale – Both Teams To Score – 31/50
Although a new season offers fresh opportunities, Rotherham ended the season by conceding in their last four games. They’ve also shipped nine goals in their last two friendlies, but they will be confident of finding the net in order to give their campaign an early boost. Sam Nombe is expected to lead the line having bagged 15 goals in all competitions last season.
Port Vale will be keen to exploit the hosts weaknesses at the back, especially given that they will still be on a high following last season’s promotion. They only failed to score twice in their final 12 league outings last term and boast and boast Jayden Stockley across their front line, a player who is well versed with League One.
Third Prediction For Rotherham United vs Port Vale – Over 2.5 Goals – 3/4
With the visitors posing an attacking threat, it is likely that Rotherham will need to score at least twice to secure the three points. They weren’t the biggest scorers in League One last season and have been rather goal shy during pre-season, but it is fair to say that their previous campaign petered out whilst competitive football is a completely different ball game to a friendly.
The Valiants previous exploits in League One saw them ship 74 goals in 46 games, which played a huge role in their eventual relegation. Although this is a different squad, they will still enter this game with a large portion of the team which earned promotion last season. It will be interesting to see how they adapt to the step up.
Best Odds For Rotherham United vs Port Vale
| Bookmaker | Rotherham United | Draw | Port Vale |
| MyriadPlay | 11/10 | 5/2 | 19/10 |
| Gentleman Jim | 23/20 | 13/5 | 19/10 |
| Betarno | 11/10 | 12/5 | 9/5 |
Full Preview of the Game: Last Results and Head-To-Head
Rotherham will be hoping to put their disastrous 2024/25 campaign behind them in what must be described as a new era under Matt Hamshaw. New faces bring fresh optimism but as we saw with Steve Evans a year ago, this can have a detrimental effect. They may take time to gel, which is why pre-season is so important. However, they are unlikely to take any optimism from their recent results, which saw them lose 5-0 to Sheffield United and 4-1 to Accrington Stanley.
Meanwhile, Port Vale will be full of optimism after last season’s success and will be keen to carry that momentum into League One. However, like their opponents, they haven’t enjoyed the best pre-season, failing to win any of their last four. They drew 1-1 with non-league Altrincham on Tuesday night, a result which followed three successive defeats. A 3-1 reverse against Notts County kicked off the run, although they won’t be too disappointed to have lost against higher ranked opposition in Everton and Birmingham City, the first of which gave the squad an opportunity to play at the Toffees’ Hill Dickinson Stadium.
This is the first league meeting between the two since 2014, which Rotherham won 1-0. However, there has been two cup meetings since, which were also won by the Millers. The first came in the EFL Trophy in 2021, which finished 1-1 before the hosts prevailed on penalties. The most recent clash was in the Carabao Cup in 2022, with Vale succumbing to a 2-1 defeat in front of their own fans. The Staffordshire-based side’s last victory in this fixture came in 2013. Overall, Rotherham have won 25 of the previous 55 meetings between the pair whilst Port Vale have emerged victorious 22 times. The other eight ended in a draw.
Confrontation
Where To Watch Rotherham United vs Port Vale
Where can I watch this game, either in person or on TV?
- Location: AESSEAL New York Stadium, New York Way, Rotherham, S60 1FJ
- Date: August 2nd, 2025
- TV Channel: Sky Sports +
Probable Lineups For Rotherham United vs Port Vale
Predicted Rotherham United Lineup
- Lineup: Dawson; Hall, Rafferty, Jules, James; McWilliams, Gore, Spence; Powell; Nombe, Hugill
- Injured/Suspended: Raggett
- Manager: Matt Hamshaw
Predicted Port Vale Lineup
- Lineup: Marosi; Humphreys, Hall, Debrah; Gabriel, Byers, Croasdale, Shipley, Headley; Tolaj, Waine
- Injured/Suspended: None
- Manager: Darren Moore
