PREVIEW | Newport v Salford

After Portsmouth booked their place in the Leasing.Com Trophy final with a dramatic 3-2 win against Exeter last night, Newport County and Salford City go head-to-head in the remaining semi-final tonight - and here's Playmaker's Dylan Scarborough with an in-depth preview of the all-League Two clash. 

Newport County host fellow League Two side Salford City on Wednesday in the Leasing.Com Trophy semi-final to battle it out for a place at Wembley Stadium.

The Welsh side have already seen off Brighton & Hove Albion U21s, MK Dons and Leicester City U21s to reach this stage of the competition. The Exiles are currently 16th in the league and have won just one of their last five games in all competitions - drawing one and losing three.

Newly promoted Salford City, meanwhile, currently sit 11th in the league and have defeated the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s, Port Vale and Accrington Stanley on their route to the semi-final. The Lions have lost once, drawn twice and won twice in their last five fixtures.

If Newport County were to book their place at Wembley, it would be a third consecutive visit to the stadium in three years. In 2017/18, the Exiles held Tottenham Hotspur at home to force a replay at Wembley while Spurs were temporary tenants at the ground. They made their second consecutive appearance in 2018/19 when they lost the League Two play-off final against Tranmere Rovers. 

County will be looking to put their Wembley curse behind them if they defeat Salford - but the Lions won’t go down without a fight. Salford defeated the Exiles 1-0 in the Welsh club’s own backyard earlier this season, but as we all know... form goes out of the window when something special is up for grabs. And a Wembley final firmly enters the 'special' bracket.

The game will take place at Rodney Parade and kicks off at 7:45pm.

One to Watch - Newport County

Padraig Amond

©Getty / Michael Regan

Irish striker Amond loves playing in cup competitions and in front of the cameras with the Exiles. The 31-year-old scored a total of 24 goals in all competitions last season, including being the joint FA Cup top goalscorer alongside Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus.

So far, Amond has scored 12 goals this season including netting once in this competition back in January. The Irishman will definitely be looking to add to his tally on Wednesday night and potentially book another appearance at Wembley.

One to Watch - Salford City

James Wilson

©Getty / Stephen Pond

The former Manchester United man has had his fair share of loan spells in the past, but has now found a new permanent club. The 24-year-old striker couldn’t quite find his shooting boots at Aberdeen, but he hit the ground running on his debut with Salford against Plymouth Argyle - scoring a brace in a 3-2 defeat.

With Darron Gibson also signing until the end of the season, Salford will be going to South Wales with two former Red Devils in their squad and Wembley on their minds.

Officials

Referee: Anthony Backhouse
Assistant Referees: Craig Taylor & Sam Ogles
Fourth Official: Kevin Johnson
Anthony Backhouse will be refereeing this game. So far, Backhouse has refereed 25 matches in the EFL this season and has shown a total of 83 yellow cards and three red cards.

Where can I watch?

The game will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports Football at 7:30 pm on 19 February.