Walsall's 2025/26 Sky Bet League Two campaign continues on Saturday afternoon as they visit the SO Legal Stadium and take on relegation-battling Barrow.NEWS & VIEWS
Sitting in the bottom half of the table, and after losing twice in as many games, the Saddlers have fallen out of contention for a place in the Play-Off places and will remain in the fourth tier for at least another season.
Whilst a mid-table finish is far from a disaster, coming on the back of another season that saw the team spend much of the campaign at or at least near the top of the table, it still feels like failure.
A failure that is the result of many mistakes at many levels but ultimately falls on Walsall's ever-expanding Board of Directors, which continues to talk the talk but has yet to walk the walk.
A failure to act in time for anyone, be it Darren Byfield or someone from elsewhere, to be able to steady the ship. A failure to spend money in the right way, as we continue to rely on goals from a player who's borrowed from elsewhere.
Whether you think the team has shown that it is capable of getting out of the fourth tier or not, there are clearly issues that have to be addressed over the upcoming summer break.
With several members of an already threadbare squad set to reach the end of their contracts, a squad overhaul is already on the cards, and, given their recent collapse, we'd be far from shocked to see other longer-contracted players also be shown the door.
But whatever happens on the pitch, the board's choice of Head Coach will prove crucial. Get this one wrong, and the team may well be looking at a battle at the bottom of the table rather than a third attempt at promotion.
Clearly, this weekend's trip to Barrow will have little impact upon the summer, but we'd like to see the gaffer offer minutes to some of the players on the fringe of the first-team and maybe a scholar or two. It's not like they can do any worse than some of their regularly selected peers, is it?
TEAM NEWS
In terms of team news, both Priestley Farquharson and Alex Pattison have returned to training but will not feature this weekend.
THE OPPOSITION
Opponents Barrow currently sit 23rd in the Sky Bet League Two table, but will reach this weekend's match with a win under their belts as they defeated Oldham Athletic 3-2 in midweek - Saddler Josh Gordon getting his name on the scoresheet.
FACTFILE: BARROW
Nickname: The Bluebirds
Founded: 1901
Ground: Holker Street
Head Coach: Sam Foley
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Saddlers and Bluebirds have met on forty-six previous occasions, and it's Barrow who enjoy a small head-to-head advantage, having won on sixteen occasions, one more than Walsall.
There have also been a total of twelve draws over the history of the fixture, a history which began at Fellows Park on Saturday, 4th February 1922, as the two sides faced off in a Division Three (North) clash which saw the Saddlers secure the win by three goals to one.
THE LAST TIME WE MET
The most recent meeting between the Saddlers and Bluebirds took place at the Pallet-Track Becot Stadium on Saturday, 18th October 2025, and saw the visitors win 2-1.
The opening goal of the game went the way of the visitors as Elliot Newby grabbed his second goal of the season after he capped off a neat attacking move with an effort at the back post.
The visitors, who by this time had been reduced to ten men thanks to Lewis Shipley's second yellow card, doubled their lead midway through the second-half when substitute Charlie McCann hit the back of the net.
Walsall were able to cut the Bluebirds' lead in half a few minutes later when Daniel Kanu scored his fourth goal of the season, giving the Saddlers at least some hope of taking something from the game.
MATCH OFFICIALS
The EFL has confirmed that Scott Oldham, who is based in Lancashire, will take charge of the match with Matthew Moss and Jordan Brooks being named as assistant referees. Aaron Bannister has been selected as Fourth Official.
GAMES
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36
|
YELLOW
CARDS |
RED
CARDS |
141
| 4
|
PENALTIES
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6
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CATCH THE MATCH
The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports+ to fans in the UK, and Walsall's in-house service, Saddlers+, also has Monthly and Annual audio passes available. Visit their website for further information.