Walsall v Bradford preview: Basement boys are shipping goals
Walsall are out to keep up the momentum against a side who have been conceding by the bucketload as of late.
Saddlers are travelling to Bradford, who have let in 14 goals in their last five games across all competitions, writes Joe Edwards.
With such a record, it is not the biggest of surprises that the Bantams sit at the bottom of the League One pile. But, even with their leaky defence, this has the potential to be a tough encounter for Dean Keates’charges.
After all, despite Bradford’s struggles so far this season, Valley Parade – or the Northern Commercials Stadium through sponsorship rights – continues to be one of the most lively grounds the third tier has to offer.
For their last home league game against Oxford, which the Bantams ended up winning 2-0, there were 19,084 on hand – and that was not even their biggest gate of the term.
The impact the proverbial 12th man can have cannot be underestimated – and Keates will know that.
He will be looking for a similar display to which Walsall put in to beat Sunderland in an FA Cup second round replay on Tuesday.
The Saddlers frustrated the Black Cats for large spells – and got the home crowd restless – before Liam Kinsella popped up with a stunning winner.
And with Bradford at the wrong end of the table, they will likely come flying out of the blocks.
So if Keates’ charges can keep them at bay early on, that should put them on the right path. Walsall are set to welcome back top scorer Andy Cook after he served his one-match ban in the Cup.
Skipper George Dobson is a doubt with a minor knock, as is Zeli Ismail with a groin injury, but Keates is not too concerned after a dominant display in the middle of the park from Kinsella and Isaiah Osbourne at the Stadium of Light.
The form of those two also allows Keates to take necessary caution with last season’s star player Joe Edwards, who is expected to be among the substitutes.
He is nearing full fitness, making the bench over the past couple of weeks, but has spent most of 2018 on the shelf with a knee injury.
“Joe’s not too far away. He was on the bench again (at Sunderland),” added Keates.
“He wasn’t at the weekend (against Coventry) because we had enough bodies, so we could work on his fitness and conditioning more.
“He came back in at Sunderland and isn’t too far away.
“We’ve got Joe and we’ll have Adam Chambers back in a few weeks time, hopefully, and we’ve got Alfie Bates, and Conor Ronan on loan from Wolves.
“We’ve got a wealth of capability in there with different midfielders. The two in there now are doing a great job. You want (Osbourne) in your team. Me and my staff see what he does. And Kins has come in and staked a claim.”
David Ball, who scored one and set one up in Tuesday’s eventual Cup loss on penalties to Peterborough after the game finished 4-4, is one to watch for the hosts.
