Walsall Football Club

The Saddlers are back on the road this evening...

OVERVIEW:
The third-placed Saddlers are back on the road for the first time since a thrilling 4-4 draw at Colchester – exactly one month ago. Walsall remain unbeaten away from home and have taken more points on their travels than any other League One side (18 from a possible 24). Struggling Swindon were beaten play-off finalists last season but are languishing in the relegation zone, a point from safety, with one win in their last 14 competitive matches. New Town boss Martin Ling has won two of his three games at the helm.

LEAGUE STANDINGS:
Swindon: 22nd – P18 W4 D4 L10 F23 A33 PTS16
Walsall: 3rd – P17 W9 D6 L2 F29 A15 PTS33

LAST FIVE LEAGUE MATCHES: (Most recent match first)
Swindon: LWLDL
Walsall: DWDWL

LAST TIME OUT:
Saturday, 21st November – Walsall 1-1 Sheff Utd – League One
The Saddlers were forced to settle for a point despite dominating for long periods against promotion-rivals Sheffield United. Tom Bradshaw's tap-in put Walsall ahead, but Jose Baxter's low strike ensured honours ended even.
Team:Etheridge, Downing, O’Connor, Henry, Demetriou, Morris (Forde 77’), Chambers, Evans, Lalkovic (Cook 81’), Sawyers, Bradshaw.
Subs not used: Taylor, Baxendale, MacGillivray, Preston, Flanagan.

Saturday, 21st November – Fleetwood 5-1 Swindon – League One
Swindon slumped to a sixth successive away defeat after shipping five at fellow strugglers Fleetwood. Goals from Adam El-Abd (own goal), Antoni Sarcevic (penalty), David Henen, Tarique Fosu and Bobby Grant gave Fleetwood a resounding win. Nicky Ajose netted Swindon's late consolation.
Team:Vigouroux, Branco, El-Abd, Turnbull, Barry, Kasim, Rodgers (Roberts 61’), Gladwin, Ormonde-Ottewill (Brophy 76’), Ajose, Thomas (Obika 61’).
Subs not used: Hylton, Belford, Landolo, Ojamaa.

HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:
Walsall wins:32
Swindon wins: 33
Draws: 28

LAST MEETING:
Tuesday, 21st April 2015 – Swindon 3-3 Walsall
Jordan Turnbull's late header rescued a point for promotion-chasing Swindon in a six-goal thriller. Walsall led 2-0 through Kieron Morris and Jordy Hiwula but two Ben Gladwin penalties brought Town level. Romaine Sawyers restored the Saddlers' advantage, only for Turnbull to deny us victory.

SWINDON MANAGER:
Martin Ling – The 49-year-old replaced Mark Cooper as Swindon manager at the start of this month. He made over 150 appearances in two spells as a player at the County Ground, helping Town win promotion to the Premier League in 1992/93. Ling, who has also managed Cambridge and Torquay, spent five years in charge of Leyton Orient, with Saddlers boss Dean Smith as his assistant, winning promotion from League Two in 2005/06.

SWINDON STAR MAN:
Nicky Ajose – The Bury-born striker signed from Leeds in September 2015 and is Swindon's six-goal top scorer this term. A former Manchester United trainee, the 24-year-old has also played for Crewe, Peterborough and Bury to name a few. Ajose played on loan at Swindon in 2013, netting ten goals in 21 matches.

VIEW FROM THE SWINDON CAMP:
Martin Ling (on their 5-1 defeat at Fleetwood) – “You’ve got to be honest and that’s not good enough. We talk about the Swindon way but first thing you got to do is compete for the ball. Today we were second best all over the pitch. I didn’t see it coming that’s the disappointing thing. It was a very bad day at the office.”

WALSALL TEAM NEWS:
Sam Mantom (ankle) and Isaiah Osbourne (knee) are out.

REFEREE:
Keith Hill (from Hertfordshire).

STAT OF THE DAY:
The Saddlers are yet to lose this season after scoring the first goal - W8 D5 L0.

TOMORROW’S LEAGUE ONE FIXTURES: (7.45pm unless stated)
Bradford vs. Coventry
Bury vs. Scunthorpe
Colchester vs. Crewe
Doncaster vs. Chesterfield
Fleetwood vs. Millwall
Gillingham vs. Rochdale
Oldham vs. Southend
Peterborough vs. Barnsley
Port Vale vs. Blackpool
Sheff Utd vs. Shrewsbury
Wigan vs. Burton