Walsall v Cheltenham
Walsall’s impressive form of a few weeks ago now seems a distant memory. They took the lead at Leyton Orient last week but ended up on the wrong end of a 3-1 defeat. This loss followed a surprise 3-0 reverse at home to league newcomers Salford City, a defeat that ended a run of four straight wins across all competitions for Darrell Clarke’s men.
Their last win was a decent result at Crawley Town at the end of September, and they remain inconsistent as Clarke looks to mould a virtually brand new squad after a summer of substantial rebuilding following last season’s relegation.
Scoring goals has been the problem for the Saddlers, they’ve only managed nine in the league all season and defender James Clarke is the club’s joint leading goalscorer with Caolan Lavery on three goals. It is a problem that currently sees them nineteenth in the table and desperate to recapture some form on Saturday.
The talented Danny Guthrie could miss out after coming off injured at Orient, joining Cameron Ping and Lavery on the doubtful list for a crucial game for the Saddlers.
Cheltenham arrive at the Bescot unbeaten in six having won four in a run which has taken them to sixth in the table. However, they did struggle last time out when they needed a seventy-first Ryan Broom goal to clinch a point at struggling Oldham.
They return to action having had last week off due to the postponement of their game against Newport County because of the international break. Impressive Robins boss Michale Duff has improved their fortunes on the road this season, but they remain more convincing at home, and while they will no doubt be looking to bounce back from two draws on the bounce, their last two outings point to a slight dip in form.
It should also be mentioned, Walsall are unbeaten against Cheltenham in the EFL. However, this will be the first meeting between the two sides since the 2008/09 when both games ended in a draw and while the form may point to an away win, we feel a stalemate is once again the likely outcome on Saturday in an Acca buster for some.
