Accrington Stanley host Walsall at the Wham Stadium this Saturday in a big clash in the League Two mid table. Both clubs have had a rollercoaster season so far, with Stanley looking for a win to work themselves into the Play-off conversation whereas Walsall need to put even more distance between themselves and the relegation zone.
Accrington Stanley currently sit ninth in League Two after 22 games. The 'Owd Reds have nine wins, four draws and nine losses, leaving them on 31 points, just five points from the final Play-off place.
In their last five games in all competitions, Stanley have one win, two draws and two losses.
Tyler Smith scored the only goal of the game in the 58th minute to give Bradford City the 1 - 0 win, despite Stanley having more shots on target. The next time out against Swindon was a seven goal thriller. A penalty from Dan Kemp and goals from Jake Young, Saidou Khan and Charlie Austin gave Swindon the 4 - 0 lead going into the last minute of normal time. However, Stanley put up a good fight with a goal from Korede Adedoying and a brace from Bradley Hills in the ten minutes of added time as the game finished 4 - 3.
The following clash with Doncaster was the opposite as neither side could find the back of the net. Despite having 13 shots and restricting Doncaster to zero shots on target, Stanley had to settle for a goalless draw. The one win came in the Second round of the Football League Trophy against Lincoln City. Rosaire Longelo left it late until the 93rd minute to score the only goal of the game for the 1 - 0 win for Stanley.
The last time out for Stanley was another high-scoring game, this time against Crewe Alexandra. Aaron Rowe opened the scoring for Crewe in the fourth minute, but Jack Nolan equalised in the sixth minute. Mickey Demetriou regained the lead for Crewe but Benjamin Woods equalised in the 87th minute, just after Crewe’s Luke Offord’s red card. Josh Woods then gave Stanley the lead, but a 98th minute goal from Elliott Nevitt grabbed a 3 - 3 draw for Crewe.
Walsall, on the other hand, sit 15th currently. In 21 games, Walsall have seven wins, six draws and eight losses which leaves them on 27 points. This leaves Walsall closer to the relegation zone than the Play-offs.
In their last five games in all competitions, Walsall have three wins, one draw and one loss.
The trip to Barrow saw Walsall only manage four shots on target as Ben Whitfield and Niall Canavan both scored in the 2 - 0 win for Barrow. In the Second round of the FA Cup, Walsall took on Alfreton Town. Despite having 17 shots, Walsall couldn’t find the back of the net and had to settle for a 0 - 0 draw.
Aden Baldwin opened the scoring in the first half for Notts County, but a second half brace from Oisin McEntee gave Walsall the 2 - 1 win. In the Replay of the Alfreton Town clash, Jamille Matt’s sixth minute goal gave Walsall the 1 - 0 win.
The most recent outing for Walsall was against Tranmere. Matt was on the scoresheet again, again with the only goal of the game in the 1 - 0 win over Tranmere.
Accrington Stanley and Walsall have only met five times in their histories, with the first meeting coming as recently as 2006. Not much separates the two sides, with Stanley having three wins in comparison to Walsall’s two wins, with a draw yet to come in this fixture.