Walsall welcome Grimsby to the Bescot Stadium this Saturday for a mid table clash in League Two. Both Walsall and Grimsby have had a mixed to disappointing start to the season, though both do already have a win to their names.
Walsall currently sit 17th in League Two after four games on just four points with one win, one draw and two losses. The Saddlers are one of three teams on four points, and their negative two goal difference keeps them middle of the road despite having conceded the third most goals in the league.
The Saddlers’ one win of the season came against Stockport in their second game of the season. Danny Johnson scored in the first half and Aramide Oteh scored in the second half giving Walsall the 2 - 0 lead going into the later stages, but the late goal from Ryan Rydel wasn’t enough to take the win away from Walsall. The draw came last time out in the league where Walsall raced into a 2 - 0 lead but a goal in extra time drew Crewe Alexandra level to 2 - 2. The two losses came against Morecambe and Wrexham, 2 - 1 and 4 - 2 respectively.
Walsall took on Brighton’s U21 team in the Football League Trophy Group stage in their midweek game. Oisin McEntee and Thomas Andrew Knowles were on the scoresheet for The Saddlers but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss as Andrew Moran scored a brace and Liam Gordan’s own goal gave Brighton U21 the 3 - 2 win. Though Brighton had more of the possession, Walsall managed 19 shots in comparison to Brighton’s four shots, however, both teams had four shots on target.
Grimsby sit just three places ahead of Walsall in 14th. The Mariners have five points under their belt with one win, two draws and one loss. Grimsby have a goal difference of one which is tied with Swindon, but due to The Mariner's low scoring campaign so far, they sit 14th.
The Mariners’ one win came against Salford City where a brace from Abo Eisa gave Grimsby the 2 - 0 win against ten man Salford. The two draws came against Wimbledon and Mansfield Town, a goalless draw against Wimbledon and a 1 - 1 draw with Mansfield with Eisa grabbing another goal.
The loss came against Notts County, where despite having a 2 - 1 lead going into halftime through Danny Rose and Harry Clifton, Notts County fought back to take the 3 - 2 win home.
Walsall and Grimsby have met 68 times in their histories, the first meeting coming all the way back in 1892. The Saddlers have won on 32 occasions, eight times more than Grimsby who have only beaten Walsall 24 times. Draws are somewhat common in this fixture with the points being shared 12 times.
In the last five games between the two there have been one Walsall win, two Grimsby wins and two draws.