Battling for a chance at promotion to the third tier, Walsall will welcome Chesterfield to the Poundland Bescot Stadium on Friday for the second leg of their League Two playoff semi-final.
The Saddlers hold a two-goal advantage from Sunday’s opening 90, and the Spireites have a mountain to climb to make the final.
Match preview
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Matt Sadler‘s Walsall were clear favourites for the fourth-tier title for the majority of the campaign, but after a disastrous end to the league season that included a 13-game winless run between February and the end of April, a final-day stoppage-time goal from Bradford City was enough to deny them automatic promotion.
In the first leg, the Sadlers took the lead through a Taylor Allen spot kick, and the opposition had no rebuttal when Alfie Chang made it 2-0 before half time.
That result was Sadler’s side’s second win on the bounce after they ended their winless streak on matchday 46 with a 1-0 victory over Crewe Alexandra, and the manager will be hoping that his team are truly back on track given that they last recorded consecutive triumphs almost three months ago.
However, it remains to be seen whether the hosts can perform in front of their home crowd as they have done on the road, especially considering their record of four losses and two draws from their last six at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.
Importantly for Walsall, their two-goal lead means that they only have to avoid a major defeat to progress, and having lost only one of their four most recent games, they will be confident of making the final against either AFC Wimbledon or Notts County.
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Meanwhile, Paul Cook‘s Chesterfield ended the season as the most in form team in the fourth tier, and after collecting 28 points from their last 13 fixtures, they scraped into the top six one point ahead of Salford City on the final day.
Despite losing the first leg, the Spirietes can take heart from a performance that saw them pose a genuine threat and force Walsall goalkeeper Tommy Simkin into making three saves, and given that they also hit the crossbar through a header from centre-back Ashley Palmer, they may even feel unlucky to be behind.
Regardless, Cook’s men will feel capable of overcoming the deficit on Friday considering that they had scored three or more goals in three of the five games prior to Sunday’s loss, not to mention that their first-leg defeat came at the end of a seven-game unbeaten run.
Adding to this hopeful feeling will be the fact that the visitors have won four of their last six on the road, including an impressive 4-0 thrashing of playoff rivals Salford.
That being said, Chesterfield have now only won three of their last eight matches – drawing three and losing two – and they will need to channel the type of form that saw them win five out of six back in March if they are to pull off a remarkable comeback this week.
Team News
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Walsall’s Taylor Allen opened the scoring in the first leg, and he should start once again as part of Sadler’s back three alongside Harry Williams and David Okagbue.
Providing width ahead of them will be wing-backs Nathan Asiimwe and Liam Gordon, while George Hall and Jamie Jellis back up striker Jamille Matt from their versatile attacking midfield positions.
As for Chesterfield, striker Will Grigg, as well as wingers Ryan Colclough and Michael Olakigbe, will have their work cut out for them as they try to overturn their side’s two-goal disadvantage.
In the centre of the park, midfielders John Fleck, Tom Naylor and Jenson Metcalfe should look to provide stability for the team and a platform for their forwards to play from.
Elsewhere, centre-backs Ashley Palmer and Kyle McFadzean can be expected to marshal the backline in front of goalkeeper Ryan Boot, and the defenders could be vital in both boxes from set pieces.
Walsall possible starting lineup:
Simkin; Okagbue, Williams, Allen; Asiimwe, Chang, Stirk, Gordon; Hall, Jellis; Matt
Chesterfield possible starting lineup:
Boot; Mandeville, Palmer, McFadzean, Gordon; Metcalfe, Fleck, Naylor; Olakigbe, Grigg, Colclough
We say: Walsall 1-2 Chesterfield
Walsall may have won consecutive fixtures ahead of this clash, but their form prior to the final matchday of the regular season was shockingly poor, and they are yet to prove their consistency.
On the other hand, Chesterfield have been particularly strong on the road, but with a two-goal deficit to make up, they could be beaten narrowly on aggregate even if they win the game on their opponents’ turf.
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