Walsall welcome Mansfield tonight, in the rearranged fixture, after the original game was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. Both sides have not played since January 23rd, and will be delighted to get back to action after a few weeks without playing.
Mansfield Town
Before the break, Mansfield were the leagues most in-form team, with five straight league wins. Their last game, was a 1-0 win against Southend United. Before that, they has notched up impressive wins against Salford, and a big 4-0 victory against Port Vale.
January saw some changes for the Stags, as they saw Nicky Maynard, and ex-Saddler Andy Cook, leave on loan. Maynard joined Newport County, and Andy Cook moved to Bradford. The gap left by the departing strikers has been filled by Oliver Sarkic who joins from Blackpool, after failing to notch up any significant game time there.
Mansfield have threats all over the pitch, with the centre of midfield chipping in regularly. George Lapslie, who has signed on a permanent deal from Charlton after starting the season on loan, has picked up five league goals, whilst Harry Charsley has four, with six assists to his name. Up top, Jordan Bowery is the Stags top scorer, with seven in the league.
Walsall
Since the departure of Zak Jules, and Elijah Adebayo, fans have been anxious to see what formation, personnel and system Darrell Clarke will play. Max Melbourne looks set to be a direct replacement for Jules at Left-back, although the big question mark is over how Walsall will line-up at the top end of the field. With Wright and Nolan impressing on the wing, and the option of Yaw or Reid too, there are many combinations that could be played.
With no games for a couple of weeks, it means players may have recovered from injury. Although no updates have been given, Rose and Clarke may be fit enough to be in contention, or at least to make the bench. In an update with the Express and Star, Darrell Clarke has revealed that Holden won’t be making a return to action until around the end of February.
As the Saddlers embark on a hectic schedule, they will be out for a good start against Mansfield, hoping to make it back to back wins. With such a gap between games, the form book does go out the window, but that may play into the Saddlers hands, considering the run their visitors had been on.
