Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

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

sportsmole.co.uk, 24 December 2022, 18:02
Round 23 of the 2022-23 League Two season sees Swindon Town entertain the challenge of Walsall at the County Ground on Monday afternoon.

Off the back of respective victories in their last outings, the sides head into this one on a high and will look to pick up where they left off.

Match preview

Swindon Town ended a run of five games across all competitions without a win courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Barrow at Holker Street on Saturday.

The game was decided in the seventh minute as Louis Reed kept his cool from 12 yards to hand Scott Lindsey's men all three points in a hard-fought contest.

As a result, the Robins have moved up to fourth place in the League Two table, seven points behind Northampton Town in the race for the final automatic promotion spot.

Next up is the task of facing off against an opposing side who have come out on top in just one of the last five meetings between the teams, losing the other four.

However, that solitary triumph did come in the most recent edition of this fixture back in August when Monday's hosts claimed a comprehensive 2-0 victory in the EFL Cup.

Walsall made it three wins on the spin as they saw off the threat of Doncaster Rovers in a 2-0 victory at the Eco-Power Stadium on December 2.

Off the back of a drab opening 45 minutes of action, second-half goals from Tom Knowles and Danny Johnson got the job done for Michael Flynn's men.

Having picked up 30 points from 20 matches so far, the Saddlers sit 11th in the league standings, three points behind the last playoff spot with a game in hand.

Currently on a run of three consecutive clean sheets away from home leading up to Monday's clash, the away side will be looking to put on another solid defensive display on enemy territory.

Swindon Town League Two form:

W

D

L

L

D

W

Swindon Town form (all competitions):

L

D

L

L

D

W

Walsall League Two form:

D

W

W

D

W

W

Walsall form (all competitions):

W

W

D

W

W

W

Team News

Swindon's Angus MacDonald made his comeback from an injury layoff last time out, and the defender is expected to feature right from the off once again.

With five goals and five assists apiece, Jacob Wakeling has directly contributed to more goals for the home side than any of his teammates, making the 21-year-old one to keep an eye on.

Following his clincher against Doncaster, Danny Johnson is now up to 11 league strikes for the campaign, which leaves him just two shy of Sam Hoskins at the top of the scoring charts.

Jacob Maddox had to make do with a place on the visitors' bench last time out, but the Englishman could be recalled to the starting XI for this one.

Swindon Town possible starting lineup:

Brynn; Lavinier, Blake-Tracey, MacDonald, Hutton; Williams, Reed, Darcy; Shade, Wakeling, Iandolo

Walsall possible starting lineup:

Evans; Monthe, Daniels, White; Gordon, Earing, Kinsella, Bennett; Hutchinson, Johnson, Knowles

We say: Swindon Town 1-1 Walsall

Previews by email

Top News

22 December 2024 talksport.com Southampton's new head coach Ivan Juric is one not to be messed with as his physical scrap with Torino's sporting director showed. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Seeking to pick up a third straight home win in the Primeira Liga, Vitoria de Guimaraes play host to Nacional at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques on Monday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is reportedly looking for the Red Devils to build a new scouting team in Portugal in a bid to unearth the next Cristiano Ronaldo. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick is reportedly not interested in signing Manchester United attacker Alejandro Garnacho during next summer's transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool must take advantage of Tottenham Hotspur's considerable weaknesses and will be confident of victory on Sunday according to Reds expert David Lynch. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The January transfer window is almost here and clubs around the UK and Europe are lining up moves as they look to take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Union Saint-Jean vs. Monaco (Sunday, 1.45pm) On Sunday, in a David vs. Goliath affair, Union Saint-Jean can pull off one of the biggest upsets in Coupe de France history when they take on Monaco in the round of 64 at Stadium de Toulouse. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Gaziantep vs. Antalyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) After their Turkish Cup victory in midweek, Gaziantep will now turn their attention to the Turkish Super Lig, with Antalyaspor visiting the Kalyon Stadyumu in Sunday's gameweek 17 encounter. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Santa Clara vs. Braga (Sunday, 5.00pm) Still reeling from crashing out of the Taca de Portugal, Santa Clara return to action in the Primeira Liga when they play host to Braga at the Estadio de Sao Miguel on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sparta vs. Ajax (Sunday, 11.15am) Ajax will be looking to end the year on a high when they travel to Sparta-Stadion Het Kasteel to take on a stuttering Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia vs. Alaves (Sunday, 1.00pm) Valencia will attempt to claim their third league when they welcome relegation rivals Alaves to Mestalla for Sunday's crucial La Liga encounter. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Roma vs. Parma (Sunday, 11.30am) Both struggling in the bottom half of the Serie A standings, Roma and Parma will hope for an early Christmas gift when they meet at Stadio Olimpico on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk VfL Bochum vs. Heidenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) In a relegation six-pointer, VfL Bochum will hope to defeat Heidenheim when they welcome them to Vonovia Ruhrstadion on Sunday in their 15th Bundesliga game of the season. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Dundee Utd vs. Celtic (Sunday, 12.00pm) Celtic, looking to maintain their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership, will travel to Tannadice Park on Sunday afternoon to face Dundee United. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Everton vs. Chelsea (Sunday, 2.00pm) Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League for a brief time at least when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk South American giants Palmeiras have reportedly sent an 'initial proposal' to Fulham for midfielder Andreas Pereira. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Nuno Espirito Santo will rival Arne Slot to win the Premier League's Manager of the Year award. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona want to sever ties with attacker Ansu Fati at the earliest opportunity in the January transfer window but the player is rebelling against a move, according to a report. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has confirmed that he wants to remain at the Allianz Arena despite links with a return to the Premier League next year. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Serie A powerhouses Napoli have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire on a free transfer next summer. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Sorloth scored a last-gasp winner as Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to go top of the La Liga table. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka has been seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches after sustaining a suspected hamstring problem in Saturday's 5-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have written a new page of English football history thanks to their 5-1 destruction of London rivals Crystal Palace in Saturday's Premier League derby. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Round 17 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig will be wrapped up with a clash between two sides from the Marmara region, as Istanbul Basaksehir welcome Kasimpasa to the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu on Monday evening. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Leicester loan star Facundo Buonanotte wants to see a Tottenham forward join him so they can rekindle their partnership. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal's rivals will hate it but they can definitely claim London is red after their 5-1 win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus continued his resurgence with two goals as the Gunners demolished Crystal Palace 5-1 in the Premier League at Selhurst Park. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal fans' worst fears have been realised with Bukayo Saka substituted early with a suspected hamstring injury. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have suffered a worrying injury blow over Bukayo Saka, who appeared to pick up a hamstring problem in Saturday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona and Arsenal are reportedly both interested in signing Sevilla midfielder Lucien Agoume, with the France Under-21s international potentially leaving Estadio Ramon next summer.