AFC Wimbledon vs Walsall - match preview

The Saddlers were condemned to a humiliating 5-1 defeat by the Wombles on the final day of last season when they last visited the capital, as their faint hopes of sneaking into the play-offs were mercilessly obliterated. 

Since, Walsall have propelled themselves into early promotion contention after collecting eight wins from their opening 14 games in League Two. 

They head into the weekend in fourth-place and just six points adrift of league leaders Port Vale with two games in hand after their home fixture against Gillingham was postponed last weekend due to internationals.

Sadler's charges are unbeaten in four games away from home although almost a month has elapsed since their last road trip which ended in a goalless stalemate at Accrington Stanley. 

They will now be looking to return to winning ways in the league after registering back-to-back draws against Accrington and Crewe Alexandra respectively.

Bescot has remained a fortress, just as it did last season, but the key factor behind Walsall's early season rise has been the remarkable improvement on the road. 

Last season, Walsall shipped 48 goals (the fourth-most in the division) and conceded first in 19 of their 23 matches on their travels. Fast forward six months and Walsall boast the best defensive away record in the division (leaking just five goals) and have scored the opener in four of their seven matches away from home.

After just seven matches, the Saddlers are almost halfway (11) to matching their away points tally from the previous campaign (23) and have already scored a third of the amount (12) than they managed on the road during Sadler's debut season in the dugout (36). 

An instrumental figure in Walsall's early season form has been the goal-laden form of Stoke City loanee Nathan Lowe. The teenage talisman, who has scored seven times in League Two, was named the EFL Young Player of the Month for October this week. 

And the 19-year-old extended his season tally to 10 goals across all competitions with Walsall's third goal in their 3-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Trophy last week. 

Tommy Simkin, Donervon Daniels, David Okagbue, Liam Gordon and Brandon Comley missed out that night due to international duty but are expected to be available for the weekend. 

Meanwhile, Harry Williams is likely to be in contention after missing the past two games with concussion. The defender, who has enjoyed a breakthrough into the first team this season, has been out of action since suffering a nasty collision with the advertising hoardings during Walsall's 2-1 win over Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup earlier this month. 

Williams was sent to hospital in the aftermath but was released the following day. The club have since followed concussion protocol and he was due to return to training this week. 

However, Priestley Farquharson (thigh) and Josh Gordon (hamstring) will not be involved at Wimbledon and remain long-term absentees.