Preview: Walsall vs. Swindon Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Two League Two sides go head to head in the second round of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon when Walsall welcome Swindon Town to Banks's Stadium.

The hosts have slipped down to 14th in the table, whilst their visitors are up in fourth, but both managed away wins in the last round of the cup.

Match preview

Walsall narrowly saw off King's Lynn Town in the FA Cup first round, with Brendan Kiernan's 15th-minute goal proving to be enough to knock out the National League side.

They will now face a tougher challenge from a team in their own division, however, and one who are faring better than the Saddlers.

Matthew Taylor's side are not in great form, having lost their last two games and four of the last six in all competitions.

After a 1-0 loss away at Carlisle United in the league last weekend, Walsall headed East to Cambridge United for an EFL Trophy match, but conceding a penalty after 18 minutes set the tone for the game and Shilow Tracey wrapped up a 2-0 win for the hosts in the second half.

Taylor will have to hope that his side can rediscover some form to avoid being knocked out of two competitions in the space of four days.

Whilst undoubtedly in better form than their upcoming opponents, Swindon also fell at the same hurdle of the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.

League Two strugglers Colchester United travelled to The County Ground and took an unexpected 2-0 lead thanks to a Luke Chambers brace inside the first 11 minutes.

Romoney Crichlow pulled one back for the Robins on the stroke of half time, but they were unable to find an equaliser and crashed out of a competition in which they have a pretty poor record, having failed to progress past the group stage in the past two seasons.

Things are going better in the league, though. Four consecutive victories moved Ben Garner's men into the top three and, although a 1-1 draw with Harrogate Town at the weekend saw them slip to fourth, they remain just one point behind second-placed Northampton Town with a game in hand.

Team News

Walsall's main marksman George Miller scored seven early on in the season but his goals have dried up in recent weeks and he will be looking to use the big occasion of an FA Cup match to rectify that.

On-loan Brighton & Hove Albion goalkeeper Carl Rushworth should return between the sticks, with Manny Monthe marshalling the backline, after Taylor made a number of changes for the EFL Trophy game in midweek.

Swindon also produced a much-changed side for their midweek match, with a professional debut for academy player Levi Francis, while the likes of Jordan Lyden, Anthony Grant and Ryan East all got much-needed minutes.

The starting XI will be expected to return to a more familiar state for Saturday's cup game, with Tyreece Simpson and Harry McKirdy leading the line as part of a 5-3-2 setup.

Walsall possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; White, Menayese, Monthe, Ward; Earing, Labadie; Phillips, Osabede, Kiernan; Miller

Swindon Town possible starting lineup:
Wollacott; Landolo, Odimayo, Conroy, Baudry, Hayden; Williams, Payne, Reed; Simpson, McKirdy

We say: Walsall 1-2 Swindon Town

Both sides will be looking to bounce from exiting the EFL Trophy during the week, but Swindon look the more likely to succeed in doing so. They are 10 places higher up the League Two table than their hosts and had not lost a game for over month prior to Tuesday, so we are backing an away win.

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