Walsall return to action on Sunday afternoon as they make their way to Carrow Road and take on Championship side Norwich City in the Third Round of the Emirates FA Cup.MATCH INFORMATION
Sunday afternoon's match will take place at Norwich City's Carrow Road, with kick-off scheduled for 2.30pm. Team News will be confirmed at 1.30pm.
NEWS & VIEWS
After suffering a 2-0 defeat to Cambridge United on the opening day of 2026, the Saddlers will have gone ten days without a competitive outing as theur scheduled clash with Fleetwood Town was postponed thanks to a frozen pitch.
Winning just one of their last four league games, the Saddlers have been replaced at the top of the table by Bromley and, although this weekend's game will have no impact upon the table, it will go a long way to showing the mood in the camp.
The risky nature of the loan market has shown its teeth this week as Daniel Cox, Jid Okeke, and Ryan Finnigan have all returned to their respective parent clubs, with at least two of them coming straight out of Mat Sadler's preferred XI, adding an intriguing element to Sunday's squad.
On a positive note, the club has added the experience of midfielder Alex Pattison from Bradford City. Despite his choice in body art, he is a wise acquisition and will offer plenty to both attack and defence, although he is cup tied so will have a watching brief this weekend.
TEAM NEWS
On the injury front, Priestley Farquharson (eye) and Jamille Matt (knee) will be assessed closer to kick-off. However, Kemar Roofe, Harrison Burke and Harry Williams remain on the long-term injury list.
THE OPPOSITION
Opponents Norwich City are currently struggling towards the foot of the Championship having won just two of their opening seventeen league games, form that saw manager Laim Manning axed in favour of Philippe Clement.
Despite sitting in the relegation zone, the Canaries are in the top ten of the Championship form guide, having lost just two of their last seven games, a welcome turn around under their new gaffer.
Their most recent outing took place on the opening Sunday of the year, and saw them lose 2-0 to Stoke City, as former Saddlers loanee Tommy Simkin kept a clean sheet on the way to victory.
MEET THE MANAGER
After first venturing into management in 2012, former Belgium international midfielder Philippe Clement has amassed plenty of experience with clubs such as Club Brugge, who he also played for over 250 times, Waasland-Beveren, Genk, Monaco, Rangersand, of course, Norwich City.
FACTFILE: NORWICH CITY
Nickname: The Canaries
Founded: 1902
Ground: Carrow Road
Head Coach: Philippe Clement
HEAD-TO-HEAD
There have been forty-nine competitive meetings between Walsall and Norwich City, and it's the Canaries that hold an overall head-to-head advantage, having won on twenty-one occasions compared to the Saddlers' seventeen. There have also been eleven draws,
The first meeting between the Saddlers and Canaries was a Division Three South clash that took place in front of 9,885 fans at Fellows Park on Saturday, 17th September 1927, and saw the spoils shared as the teams scored a goal each.
THE LAST TIME WE MET
Aside from a behind-closed-doors clash ahead of the 2016/17 campaign, the last competitive meeting between the two teams took place at the Banks's Stadium on Tuesday, 26th January 2010.
Meeting in League One, the match saw three goals scored as Troy Deeney put the Saddlers ahead with ten minutes of the first-half remaining, only for Chris Martin (77') and Cody McDonald (85') to score in the second forty-five, securing the points for the visitors.
MATCH OFFICIALS
The EFL has confirmed that Edward (Ed) Duckworth who is based in Lancashire will take charge of the match with Conall Bartlett and Alan Cresswell being named as assistant referees. Carl Brook has been selected as Fourth Official.
GAMES
|
22
|
YELLOW
CARDS |
RED
CARDS |
89
| 4
|
PENALTIES
|
4
|
CATCH THE MATCH
Walsall's in-house service Saddlers+ will be covering the game live. Visit their website for further information, and how to secure an Audio Match Pass.
The match will also be broadcast live on discovery+ in the UK.