After missing out on automatic promotion, Walsall will have to pick themselves up for Sunday's first leg clash against Chesterfield in the League Two playoffs.
The Saddlers finished the 2024-25 campaign in fourth position with 77 points from 46 matches, while the Spireites were seven points adrift in the final playoff place.
Match preview
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Chesterfield, who won last season's National League, are dreaming of securing back-to-back promotions after putting together a strong run of form to snatch a playoff place.
After 33 matches, Paul Cook's side were sitting in 16th place in the League Two table, with a 13-point deficit to the top seven.
They went on to win eight, draw four and lose one of their final 13 league games, including a narrow 1-0 victory against Accrington Stanley to climb from ninth to seventh position on their last day of the season.
That result also extended Chesterfield's unbeaten run to six matches (W3, D3), ensuring they will carry significant momentum into their first EFL playoff campaign since they finished in the League One top six in 2014-15.
As they prepare towards Sunday's first leg, the Spireites will take confidence from the fact that they have gone seven home games without defeat since losing to Crewe Alexandra on March 1, scoring at least three goals in each of their previous three outings at the SMH Group Stadium.
However, they have failed to win any of their last three meetings with Walsall since they recorded a 2-0 home victory in August 2016.
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Walsall are set to compete in the playoffs despite appearing to be on course to walk away with the league for a significant part of the season.
After 25 matches, the Saddlers were sitting 12 points clear at the top of the table and 15 points ahead of the teams outside the automatic promotion spots.
However, they went on to endure a significant drop-off in form, influenced by the recall of their top scorer, Nathan Lowe, winning just twice in a 14-game period before they travelled to the Mornflake Stadium for last Saturday's clash with Crewe Alexandra.
Despite capitulating in the second half of the season, Walsall still looked set to secure automatic promotion after George Hall scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 away victory, only for promotion rivals Bradford City to net a 96th-minute winner in their game against Fleetwood to reclaim third spot in dramatic fashion.
As a result, the Saddlers missed out on promotion by a single point, ensuring they will have to negotiate the playoffs if they are to end their six-year stint in the fourth tier.
Mat Sadler's side do at least have home advantage for the second leg, and they will also take some confidence from the fact they have picked up four points from their two meetings with Chesterfield this season, playing out a 2-2 draw in October's reverse fixture before running out 3-1 winners in February's home clash.
Team News
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Chesterfield are expected to be without the services of Janoi Donacien, Chey Dunkley, Ryheem Sheckleford, Bailey Hobson, Mike Jones and Vontae Daley-Campbell.
Defender Jack Sparkes and attacker Armando Dobra are hoping to prove their fitness in time for Sunday's first leg.
Paddy Madden will try to shake off the hamstring issue that kept him out of the win over Accrington, while Ollie Banks remains a doubt due to a calf problem that has forced him to miss the last three games.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon defender Priestley Farquharson and midfielder Jack Earing due to injury.
Connor Barrett will miss a second game through suspension after being shown a straight red card in the defeat to Accrington at the end of last month.
There are also doubts surrounding Ellis Harrison's availability after the forward sat out last Saturday's win against Crewe.
Forward Jamille Matt is pushing for a recall after coming off the bench to feature as a half-time substitute on the final day of the season.
Chesterfield possible starting lineup:
Boot; Mandeville, Palmer, McFadzean, Gordon; Metcalfe, Naylor, Fleck; Olakigbe, Colclough, Grigg
Walsall possible starting lineup:
Simkin; Okagbue, Williams, Allen; Asiimwe, Stirk, Chang, Gordon; Hall; Jellis, Matt
We say: Chesterfield 1-1 Walsall
Walsall may have found wins hard to come by in recent times, but they have proven to be a tough team to beat in recent away games, having lost just one of their last nine road trips.
In fact, they have drawn six of their previous eight away matches, and with that in mind we think they will do enough to frustrate Chesterfield in Sunday's first leg.
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