Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

Preview: Walsall vs. Doncaster Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

sportsmole.co.uk, 6 May 2023, 21:23
Walsall host their final game of the League Two season when they take on Doncaster Rovers at the Poundland Bescot Stadium on Monday afternoon.

The Saddlers will commence proceedings 17th in the table, unable to finish any higher than 16th, while the Rovers are one place higher, having acquired three more points than their opponents.

Match preview

As the League Two season reaches its conclusion, Walsall will reflect on what will probably be considered a disappointing campaign, given that they are 23 points off the playoff places.

The Saddlers' form in the second half of the season has been particularly disappointing, acquiring 22 points in their last 25 games, the joint-second fewest of any side in the fourth tier.

Michael Flynn was sacked in mid April, following a very disappointing 3-0 defeat away at Harrogate Town, which was the former manager's seventh game without a win, however there has been little in the way of improvement since his departure.

After taking up the role of interim manager, Mat Sadler lost his first game 3-2 at home against Salford City, with the visitors scoring a 97th-minute winner, and his Walsall side were very disappointing last time out.

In a trip to 22nd-placed Crawley, the Saddlers could only pick up a 0-0 draw, in a game devoid of any real quality, with neither side creating any clear-cut opportunities.

Doncaster will also look back on a disappointing campaign, with a bottom-half finish more or less guaranteed, and they could finish as low as 18th if they fail to pick up a victory this weekend.

Although their opponents have been in very poor form, it will be a tall order for Rovers to take anything from Monday's game, given that they have failed to win away from home since early February, losing four and drawing three of their last seven matches on the road.

Not only have been disappointing on their travels, Danny Schofield's side have picked up just nine points from their last 15 matches, the second-fewest of any side in the division, although they finally managed to bring their poor run to an end in their last match.

At home against Colchester United, Doncaster emerged 1-0 winners courtesy of a first-half goal from Tommy Rowe, the midfielder's second in the league this season, although it was not the best performance, with their opponents having over double the amount of shots.

Walsall League Two form:

L

D

L

L

L

D

Doncaster Rovers League Two form:

L

L

D

L

L

W

Team News

With nothing left to play for on the final day of the season, Sadler could give a chance to some of Walsall's younger players, with Roman Maher potentially being brought in to play in an advanced midfield role, just-in behind Matthew Stevens and Conor Wilkinson.

Goalkeeper Owen Evans had to be withdrawn at the break against Crawley last weekend, meaning Jackson Smith could get the nod between the sticks, with the 21-year-old in line to make just his second league appearance for the Saddlers.

As for Doncaster, Schofield may stick with the bulk of the team that finally secured a victory last time out, although it would not be a surprise to see Kyle Hurst come back in for Zain Westbrooke at right-wing

George Miller has been ruled out since the end of March, and the striker is unlikely to feature once again, meaning Todd Miller is likely to lead the line again, with the 20-year-old still in search of his first league goal for the club.

Walsall possible starting lineup:

Evans; Low, McEntee, Monthe; Riley, Knowles, Comley, Gordon, Maher; Stevens, Wilkinson

Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:

Jones; Faulkner, Williams, Seaman; Biggins, Close, Molyneux, Rowe; Westbrooke, Barlow, Miller

We say: Walsall 1-1 Doncaster Rovers

Both sides have been very poor in the second half of the season, and they have their early form to thank for the fact they have not been drawn into the relegation battle.

With both sides devoid of any real quality, we expect them to play out a draw in the final game of the League Two season.

Previews by email

Top News

16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu for the second leg of their playoff clash on Wednesday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has two mouthwatering games on Sunday and talkSPORT has all the latest. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Taking a slender lead to San Siro, Feyenoord endeavour to finish the job on AC Milan when they reconvene for Tuesday's Champions League playoff second leg. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has confirmed that he has undergone surgery on the severe knee injury that he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford is reportedly still hopeful of completing a 'dream switch' to Barcelona during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to make a €150m (£125m) move for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hatayspor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) Round 24 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign pits relegation candidates Hatayspor against mid-table Alanyaspor at the Mersin Stadyumu on Sunday evening. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nijmegen vs. Almere City (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it back-to-back wins and move closer to escaping the foot of the Eredivisie table, Almere City will travel to the Goffertstadion on Sunday to take on NEC. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 1.00pm) Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to 15 matches when they head to Espanyol on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fiorentina vs. Como (Sunday, 11.30am) Top-four contenders Fiorentina will aim to boost their hopes of European qualification on Sunday, as they welcome Serie A strugglers Como to Stadio Franchi. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) European hopefuls Werder Bremen will welcome relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to Weserstadion on Sunday in their 22nd Bundesliga game of the season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Montpellier vs. Lyon (Sunday, 2.00pm) Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hearts vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Hearts host Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, hoping to boost their chances of qualifying for European football next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool vs. Wolves (Sunday, 2.00pm) With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could face a difficult test at Anfield on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will have to show improvements from last time out, Reds expert David Lynch has argued. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo took to Instagram and confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time after suffering an injury in training. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has hinted that he would be happy to stay at Anfield despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly accepted that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will leave in the summer transfer window, and are said to be willing to do business for a fee of £30-40m. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal might be struggling for strikers but one former wonderkid is loving life away from north London. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal should not give any thought to signing an "out of shape" free agent to solve their attacking shortage, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Xabi Alonso continues to haunt his former employers Bayern Munich. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Despite being by far the better side, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich at BayArena on Saturday in an anticlimactic six pointer in the Bundesliga title race. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Aaron Lennon believes Tottenham's clash against Manchester United could be a preview of the Europa League final. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton won their fourth Premier League match in five as they beat hosts Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could make two changes to his XI for Monday's La Liga contest with Rayo Vallecano. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will welcome Rayo Vallecano to Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys on Monday night knowing that a victory would see them rise above Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to the top of the La Liga table. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Galatasaray will travel to face Caykur Rizespor at the Caykur Didi Stadium, aiming to maintain their lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table. 15 February 2025 talksport.com It takes a lot to shock Troy Deeney but Bournemouth star Justin Kluivert nearly rendered him speechless.
there is nothing here yet