Defeated FA Cup quarter-finalists Grimsby Town face Walsall in a meeting between two mid-table League Two teams on Saturday.

Grimsby returned to fourth-tier action with a goalless draw away to promotion-chasing Mansfield Town on Wednesday while Walsall had a free midweek to bask in the glow of a 2-0 victory against Gillingham.

Match preview

Brighton & Hove Albion brought an abrupt end to Grimsby's fairytale FA Cup run, rattling five goals past the Mariners in their first quarter-final in the competition since 1939.

Manager Paul Hurst described the club's three matches immediately after their cup exit as "real tests"; Grimsby came through the first of these exams with a 0-0 draw against eighth-placed Mansfield, creating the better chances as centre-back Luke Waterfall threatened from corners.

After hosting Walsall this weekend, Grimsby face the 230-mile trip south to meet a Crawley Town side scrapping against relegation next Tuesday.

The Mariners could leapfrog Walsall with a victory this Saturday as the pair are separated by two places and as many points right in the middle of the League Two table.

Walsall ended a 13-game winless run with a 2-0 triumph over a resurgent Gillingham last Saturday, taking the lead through Isaac Hutchinson in the second half - the club's first home goal in seven-and-a-half hours of football - before Conor Wilkinson sealed three points in stoppage time.

However, the Saddlers have not tasted success on their travels in the league since Emmanuel Monthe bagged a 90th-minute winner away to Swindon Town on Boxing Day; Walsall are one of just three League Two clubs yet to earn an away win in 2023.

Michael Flynn's side do not cherish the ball, recording the lowest possession in League Two, and they rely heavily upon set-piece situations to create chances.

Walsall's attack was significantly weakened by the January departure of top scorer Danny Johnson, who was recalled from his loan spell by Mansfield Town after racking up 12 goals in the first half of the season - more than twice as many as any other Saddler.

Grimsby, equipped with a system that includes three strapping centre-backs, are in a strong position to combat Walsall's chief threat; only three fourth-tier clubs have conceded fewer set-piece goals than the Mariners this season.

These clubs may find themselves in the fourth tier now, but they were both founding members of Division Two in the late 19th century, first meeting in October 1892 as Walsall collected one of just five wins before finishing the inaugural season of English second-tier football in last place.

Team News

Grimsby left-back Owen Gallacher has only been fit enough to make one appearance for the Mariners since arriving from Crawley on a free transfer in February.

Despite making five changes from the defeat at Brighton, Hurst admitted that the cup exploits and league action of recent weeks "took its toll towards the end" of his side's stalemate against Mansfield.

Injuries have dogged Flynn's Walsall side all season, and the Saddlers have now lost Liam Gordon to an international call-up as the defender links up with the Guyana squad.

Wilkinson has been a rare returnee and scored his first goal last weekend since suffering a serious knee injury, but Walsall lost midfielder Jacob Maddox to a fitness complaint in the second half of that win.

Striker Jamille Matt is yet to score or even win a game since making the January switch from Forest Green Rovers, with the entire Walsall team scoring just two goals in his six appearances before retreating to the treatment room in February.

Grimsby Town possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Smith, Maher, Waterfall; Emmanuel, Morris, Holohan, Driscoll-Glennon; McAtee; Taylor, Lloyd

Walsall possible starting lineup:
Evans; Riley, McEntee, Daniels, Monthe; Kinsella, Low, Comley, Hutchinson; Knowles, Williams

We say: Grimsby Town 0-0 Walsall

There is very little to separate these sides in the table, and that may be how it plays out on the pitch, as a meeting between two teams devoid of prolific goal-getters face off in what could end as a scoreless stalemate.


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