Don't forget to join us across our social media channels where we'll bring you all the matchday build-up, in-game updates, and post-match reaction as the Saddlers return to action.
PRE-MATCH VIEWS
After going some twelve league games without a win, the Saddlers were finally able to secure all three points last weekend as goals from Isaac Hutchinson and Conor Wilkinson saw them topple fellow American-owned side, Gillingham.
With the recent run of form putting a large dent in our hopes of securing a place in the end-of-season Play-Offs, the final ten games of the season will now serve as an opportunity for the players who are nearing the end of their current deals to audition for an extension.
Guide the team to an admittedly unlikely place in the top seven, and some of the players who are probably not currently in the gaffer's plans for 2023/24 could force their place in the squad, but a return to the recent winless form, and we may be nearing another summer clear out.
Though an X Factor-style sing-off is unlikely to help the team climb up the table over the final few weeks of the season, some of the current crop beginning to both create and make more of their opportunities in the final third just might.
Far too many of the recent win-free games were decided by either a lack of composure at the front or a lapse in concentration at the back. Whilst many of the games ended in a draw, a lack of goals will always be a cause for concern, especially with many capable goal-scorers currently plying their trade in WS1.
Obviously, a lot can happen in ten games, and, with a few other results going our way, there is still time for the team to make a late break for the Play-Offs, but that'll only happen if last weekend's win over the Gills can be replicated, starting with Saturday's trip to Blundell Park.
OPPOSITION NEWS
Opponents Grimsby Town are unbeaten in four league games and will arrive at the match on the back of a goalless draw with Mansfield Town.
Recent wins over Rochdale and Sutton United have seen the Mariners establish a comfortable gap over the teams currently battling to avoid the drop.
With their Emirates FA Cup adventure to take the momentum from, the hosts will be keen to do the double over the Saddlers this weekend.
FORM IN FIVE
Here is how the Saddlers and their opponents Grimsby Town have fared in their last five Sky Bet League Two games.
GRIMSBY TOWN
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WALSALL |
LDWWD
| LDLDW
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HEAD-TO-HEAD
There have been sixty-seven competitive meetings between Walsall and Grimsby Town and it's the Saddlers who hold an overall head-to-head lead having won thirty-two occasions, with the Mariners securing the win twenty-four times.
There have been eleven draws over the history of the fixture. A history which began at the Chuckery on Saturday, 22nd October 1892 as Walsall Town Swifts and Grimsby Town met in a League Division Two clash, the home side winning 3-1.
The Saddlers have lost just once against the Mariners in the last seven home fixtures between the two sides.
THE LAST TIME WE MET
The most recent meeting between the Saddlers and Mariners was a League Two clash that took place at Poundland Bescot Stadium on Saturday, 27th August 2022, and saw the visitors win by two-goals-to-one.
Danny Johnson had given Walsall a first-half lead but a Harry Clifton second-half brace saw the visitors rally back to take all three points.
MATCH OFFICIALS
The EFL has confirmed that Robert Lewis, who is based in Shropshire, will be the man in the middle, whilst Bradley Hall and Oliver Bickle have been named assistant referees. Christopher Ward will act as Fourth Official.
GAMES OFFICIATED
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28
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YELLOW
CARDS |
RED
CARDS |
100
| 1
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PENALTIES AWARDED
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4
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CATCH THE MATCH
If you're not planning on going to the game you can catch the match via the club's in-house service - iFollow Walsall - which takes you through the highs and lows of every Saddlers game.
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