Wallsall will be hosting Swindon Town on Saturday at the Banks’ Stadium, as both League Two clubs will be playing in their second round of the FA Cup.
The hosts have descended down in the table to become 14th, while Swindon Town are up at the fourth position, and both of them picked away victories in their last round of the competition.
Walsall took a narrow win over King’s Lynn Town in the FA Cup first round, with a 15th-minute goal from Brendan Kiernan being enough for seeing off the Conference Premier side.
They are now going to face a heavy challenge when meeeting with a team in their own division, and one who are performing better than them.
Matthew Taylor’s team are currently not in their best of form, having lost their last two games and four out of their last six across all competitions.
Walsall lost 1-0 away to Carlisle United in the League Two campaign last weekend. They then travelled to Cambridge United for an EFL Trophy fixture, where they conceded in the 18th minute through a penalty after which Shilow Tracey scored to confirm a 2-0 win for the hosts in the second half.
Coach Taylor will be hoping that his side can be able to bounce back into a good form to avoid being knocked out of two competitions in a span of four days.
Although Swindon are in a better form than their opponents, they also failed at the same level of the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.
Swindon are however fairing on well in the league. Four successive victories moved them into the top three, though their 1-1 draw with Harrogate Town at the weekend made them drop to fourth. They remain just one point behind second-placed Northampton Town with a game in hand.
Walsall vs Swindon Town head to head
The pair have previously met in 31 occasions across all competitions, and Walsall are leading with 10 victories, they have drawn 13 and Swindon Town have won 8. Walsall have scored 42 goals and conceded 38. In their last five, Walsall have won two, Swindon two with one draw.
Swindon Town 2-1 Walsall 24/11/21
Walsall 1-1 Swindon Town 19/04/16
Swindon Town 0-2 Walsall 22/10/16
Walsall 1-0 Swindon Town 17/04/17
Swindon Town 2-1 Walsall 02/11/21
Walsall latest home form
Walsall have recently underperformed at home, as they drew their last match at home with Rochdale on the back of two defeats, one loss being in the EFL Trophy against Forest Green Rovers. They have won just one of their last five, drawing two and lost two.
Walsall 2-1 Salford City 09/10/21
Walsall 2-2 Barrow 23/10/21
Walsall 0-2 Forest Green Rovers 10/11/21
Walsall 1-3 Harrogate Town 13/11/21
Walsall 0-0 Rochdale 20/11/21
Walsall latest away form
The Saddlers have recently failed to put together good results on the road, as they have lost their last two away matches, with the last loss being 2-0 to Cambridge Unitet in the EFL Trophy. They had however won five games prior to that across all competitions.
Sutton United 0-1 Walsall 30/10/21
King’s Lynn Town 0-1 Walsall 06/11/21
Port Vale 0-1 Walsall 23/11/21
Carlisle United 1-0 Walsall 27/11/21
Cambridge United 2-0 Walsall 30/11/21
Swindon Town latest home form
Swindon Town lost their last match at home to Colchester United in the EFL Trophy on the back of a draw in the League Two. So we can say that they have a relatively good form at home despite the loss. In their last five, they have won two, drawn one and lost two.
Swindon Town 1-3 Bradford City 23/10/21
Swindon Town 1-0 Newport County 09/11/21
Swindon 3-1 Hartlepool United 23/11/21
Swindon Town 1-1 Harrogate Town 27/11/21
Swindon 1-2 Colchester United 30/11/21
Swindon latest away form
The Robins are currently in their best form away from home, having not lost in any of their last ten away fixtures across all competitions, managing just two draws in the same. They have won all their last five matches, scoring 13 goals and conceding just four in the process.
Plymouth Argyle 1-3 Swindon Town 12/10/21
Sutton United 1-2 Swindon Town 19/10/21
Oldham Athletic 1-3 Swindon Town 30/10/21
Crewe Alexandra 0-3 Swindon Town 06/11/21
Newport County 1-2 Swindon Town 20/11/21
Walsall news
Main marksman George Miller will feature here, seeking to get back to his scoring ways after failing to do so in the recent occasions.
Loanee goalkeeper Carl Rushworth would be returning, with Manny Monthe in the defence, after Taylor made changes for the EFL Trophy game in the midweek.
Swindon Town news
There was quite some changes in squad in the midweek, with Levi Francis’ debut, while Ryan East, Jordan Lyden and Anthony Grant also featuring.
Their first XI is expected to return for this match, with Tyreece Simpson and Harry McKirdy leading the line as part of a 5-3-2 setup.
Prediction and Odds
Both teams are hoping to bounce back from their last loses at the EFL Trophy, but Swindon seem to be the ones likely to come out strong in this encounter.
Swindon Town are way higher than Walsall in the League Two table and they have a good record in their away matches, so we are predicting an away win.
Odds: 1 2.97 X 3.45 2 1.69
Probable outcomes
Walsall 0-1 Swindon Town
Walsall 1-2 Swindon Town
Walsall 0-2 Swindon Town
Walsall 1-3 Swindon Town
Walsall 2-3 Swindon Town
