Match Preview: v Gillingham (H) Match Preview: v Gillingham (H)

Match Preview: v Gillingham (H)

Here we take a look ahead to Saturday's League Two clash between the Saddlers and Gillingham.
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 recording their eighth draw in ten league game in midweek - the Saddlers holding Swindon Town to a stalemate on Tuesday evening - Michael Flynn's side are back in action on Saturday as they play host to Gillingham at Poundland Bescot Stadium.

Whilst their recent run of form has seen a healthy number of clean sheets added to the already strong tally, the lack of goals and therefore points has been disappointing, especially with so many games there for the taking if someone could find the back of the net.

Clearly, replacing the likes of Danny Johnson was never going to be easy, but we'd have expected someone to have stepped up to the mark and made the position their own by now.

With Conor Wilkinson still searching for fitness, Matty Stevens yet to find his feet, Jamille Matt spending a spell on the sidelines and Douglas James-Taylor and Andy Williams simply not scoring at regular intervals, the team has been unable to find a focal point in attack.

With just eleven games remaining and with our already slim hopes of securing a place in the Play-Off's dwindling, the time has come for some of the squad to stand up and be counted.

Far too many points have been dropped this season and, whilst clean sheets are welcome, we'd happily sacrifice them for more goals at the other end.

The likelihood of the Saddlers securing a return to League One this season was always slim, with a squad rebuild, off-the-pitch distractions coupled with those pesky opposition teams also looking to make progress, we'd probably have been happy with a top-half finish.

But, as that spell of seven wins in ten league games saw the Saddlers rise up the table, as did our hopes and expectations, and, as is often the case, we're now left with a sense of disappointment,

Whilst there's always next season, we can't help but think there is still some life left in the current campaign, but the team has to begin to show what it is truly capable of before we go into yet another summer of change in WS1.

OPPOSITION NEWS

The Gills will reach this weekend's match on the back of a 2-0 triumph over Tranmere Rovers as goals from Shaun Williams and Conor Masterson saw them move nine points clear of the drop zone after three winless games.

FORM IN FIVE

Here is how the Saddlers and their opponents Gillingham have fared in their last five Sky Bet League Two games.

WALSALL
GILLINGHAM
DLDLD
WLDDW

HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Saddlers and Gills have met on one-hundred-and-seventeen occasions, and it's Gillingham that hold a slight Head-to-Head lead with forty-seven wins to the Saddlers' forty-five.

There have also been twenty-five draws between the two sides, with their first meeting taking place on Saturday, 24th September 1927 as they met in a Division Three (South) match which was played in front of some 6,923 Fellows Park fans, and ended in a 7-4 win for the Saddlers

THE LAST TIME WE MET

The most recent meeting between the Saddlers and Gills was a League Two clash that took place at the Priestfield Stadium on Saturday, 20th August 2022, and ended in a goalless draw.

MATCH OFFICIALS

The EFL has confirmed that Sunny Sukhvir Gill will be the man in the middle, whilst Samuel Ogles and Billy Smallwood have been named assistant referees. Ravel Cheosiaua will act as Fourth Official,

GAMES
OFFICIATED
24
YELLOW
CARDS
RED
CARDS
95
2
PENALTIES
AWARDED
6

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.

Not an iFollow Walsall subscriber? There are a range of options available, including monthly, annual, and gift subscriptions. For further information on the service, or to set up your subscription, click HERE.
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