The Saddlers travel to Newport County for their first away match of the new campaign.
We take a closer look at how the two teams match up in our head-to-head guide.
RECENT FORM (LAST SIX - INCLUDING PRE-SEASON)
Newport: WLWDDD Walsall: LDWLWW
9/7 – Newport 6-0 Hungerford 9/7 – Walsall 0-4 Aston Villa
12/7 – Cardiff 2-0 Newport 12/7 – Leamington 1-1 Walsall
15/7 – Weston-super-Mare 0-4 Newport 16/7 – AFC Telford 0-2 Walsall
16/7 – Torquay 0-0 Newport 19/7 – Walsall 0-3 Coventry
23/7 – Forest Green 1-1 Newport 23/7 – Solihull 0-2 Walsall
30/7 – Sutton 1-1 Newport (L2) 30/7 – Walsall 4-0 Hartlepool
LEAGUE POSITIONS - LAST FIVE SEASONS
Newport Walsall
17/18: 11th (L2) 17/18: 19th (L1)
18/19: 7th (L2) 18/19: 22nd (L1)
19/20: 14th (L2) 19/20: 12th (L2)
20/21: 5th (L2) 20/21: 19th (L2)
21/22: 11th (L2) 21/22: 16th (L2)
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Newport: 27
Draw: 18
Walsall: 23
Last six meetings:
01/01/22: Walsall 3-3 Newport
18/09/21: Newport 2-1 Walsall
24/02/21: Walsall 0-1 Newport
24/11/20: Newport 1-1 Walsall
11/02/20: Newport 0-0 Walsall
20/08/19: Walsall 0-0 Newport
Managers
James Rowberry Michael Flynn
G: 36 G: 17
W: 15 W: 7
D: 8 D: 4
L: 13 L: 6
Win percentage: 41.67% Win percentage: 40.8%
KEY MEN
NEWPORT:
Despite losing top scorer Dom Telford to Crawley Town and Courtney Baker-Richardson to Crewe Alexandra, the Exiles still have a strong squad at their disposal. They still have the experience and leadership of Mickey Demetriou, Matty Dolan and Robbie Willmott to call upon. They also added striker Omar Bogle who got off to the perfect start with a goal against Sutton United last weekend.
WALSALL
The Saddlers have signed 16 new players over the summer and the team impressed on the opening day. Goal poacher Danny Johnson showed his predatory instincts with a hat-trick against Hartlepool United.
Isaac Hutchinson also stood out with his creative display while Manny Monthé, experienced head Peter Clarke and skipper Donervon Daniels formed a solid unit in helping the Saddlers to a clean sheet. Liam Kinsella has been a consistent performer for the Saddlers in recent seasons and is still a real presence at the heart of Walsall’s midfield.