Dean Smith has this week assured Walsall fans that there is
no need to panic after 5 defeats and 1 draw from our last 6 games, and has
urged us to stick with the team. If there was ever a game in which he and his
Walsall team could restore the faith you would say it is this one. Bury have
had a real struggle this season, and picked up just 8 points so far, leaving
them just a place and a point off the bottom. However, they did leapfrog a very
poor Hartlepool United team with a 2-1 home win on Tuesday. The Shakers have failed to
keep a clean sheet now in 13 games, and you feel that surely we can get a good
result from this on? Please...
The Saddlers will be without Dean Holden after his straight
red card in the week against Sheffield United, and is likely to be replaced by
Paul Downing, so nothing really changes in terms of shape and formation. It is
expected that Grigg will make his third straight start and Bowerman will now
make it 3 out of 3 games starting on the bench after winning Football League Young Player of
the Month.
Last season you may remember this fixture at Gigg Lane as
being a rather futile effort from the Saddlers, after going 1-0 up 2 minutes
into first half stoppage time and still going in level, and ultimately getting
punished second half to leave as 2-1 losers. This has been a slightly worrying
trend at Bury in the past, with the Saddlers only managing 6 wins out of the 18
played.
I am sure you are all with me in hoping we can pull out a
result in what now is looking like a rather big game. Defeat would leave us
possibly 4 points from the drop and without a win in 7; whereas a win and we
should be back in the top half and everything would be all well and good.
Realistically, we have got a squad capable of turning a side like Bury over, we’ll
just have to wait and see if we can do it on the day. Good luck boys!
Prediction: Bury 1-2 Walsall
By: Sam Wright
Our Partners at Paddy Power are offering odds of; Bury 11/8 Draw 23/10 Walsall 9/5