Walsall will be back in action on Tuesday evening as they welcome League One side Northampton Town to the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium for their latest Vertu Trophy group game.MATCH INFORMATION
The match will kick-off at 7.00pm on Tuesday, 7th October, with Team News confirmed at 5.45pm.
NEWS & VIEWS
The Saddlers are enjoying a superb spell of form. Having avoided defeat in each of their last eight all-competition games, the Reds are among the form sides across the professional ranks and will be looking to continue that run on Tuesday evening.
Going into the match on the back of Saturday's 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers, Mat Sadler will likely ring the changes as he looks to give match minutes to some of the players currently lying on the fringes of the first-team squad.
TEAM NEWS
Walsall will be without the services of defenders Mason Hancock, Harry Williams, and Elicha Ahui, who all remain sidelined with long-term injuries.
THE OPPOSITION
Opponents Northampton Town have enjoyed a mixed start to their 2025/26 League One campaign, winning four, losing dour, and drawing two, they currently sit in mid-table. Their most recent outing saw them held to a goalless draw by Burslem's finest, Port Vale.
Looking at the Vertu Trophy, the Cobblers have enjoyed a strong start to the competition after defeating Chelsea Under-21s by three goals to nil in their opening game.
FACTFILE: NORTHAMPTON TOWN
Nickname: The Cobblers
Founded: 1897
Ground: Sixfields Stadium
Manager: Kevin Nolan
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Walsall and Northampton Town have met on eighty-nine previous occasions, and it's the Saddlers who hold a narrow overall win/ loss advantage having secured victory on thirty-seven occasions compared to the Cobblers' thirty-three.
There have also been nineteen draws over the history of the fixture, a history which began at the County Ground on Saturday, 5th November 1927 as the two sides met in a Division Three (South) clash which Northampton would win by ten-goals-to-nil.
The Saddlers secured their first-ever win over the Cobblers just over a year after their first meeting as the two sides clashed on Christmas Day, Tuesday, 25th December 1928, with Walsall winning by four-goals-to-three.
THE LAST TIME WE MET
The most recent meeting between the Saddlers and Cobblers took place at Sixfields Stadium on Saturday, 4th February 2023, and saw the spoils shared as neither side was able to hit the back of the net.
MATCH OFFICIALS
The EFL has confirmed that Richard Eley who is based in Derbyshire will take charge of the match with Kenwyn Hughes and Ryan McILravey being named as assistant referees, whilst Keiran Forrest has been selected as Fourth Official.
Eley has taken charge of seven games so far this season, and has seen fit to issue twenty-four cautions. He is yet to send a player off or award a penalty.
CATCH THE MATCH
The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports+ and Saddlers+, with audio Match Passes available on Saddlers+.