Former Walsall and Leicester man Matty Fryatt Fryatt has sampled good and bad days in FA Cup

Fryatt, aged 36, played 70 times for the Saddlers and 168 for Leicester in a career spanning 364 games and 116 goals over 13 years as a professional.

He now watches Leicester City for the club's TV channel whilst scouting for Cardiff City.

With Leicester's recent mixed form in the Premier League and Walsall's in Division Two, he believes if the Saddlers take the game to them with it being at home, they could cause an upset.

Fryatt knows more than most about the highs and lows of the FA Cup, having played in the final for Hull and being a first round loser with the Saddlers

In 2004 as a teenager he was part of the Saddlers' team under the direction of manager Paul Merson that went out in the first round to Isthmian Premier side Slough Town.

He said: "The Slough game was a real leveller – the pitch, the surroundings, everything,.

"It was a proper classic cup tie and considering we were in Division One and they were even below the top level of non league we went into it with confidence, probably too much. "I think we took the lead but went and lost 2-1 with a postman scoring the winner and Merse ripped into the players afterwards.

"I managed to miss that because I was picked up from the ground straight away for England Under 19s duty.

"Those are the games in the competition you don't forget but playing under Paul was great. We played expansive football and some of the passes he picked out for you were everything you could have wanted but that day we didn't really adapt to the conditions we were playing under.

"Next season we went to Merthyr on a slightly better pitch and got the opposite result, a 2-1 win, and I think the preparation was more professional for that one given what had happened at Slough.

Fryatt's form in the season of the Slough game saw him win both the Saddler's Player of the Season and Goal of the Season awards – he also scored after seven seconds against Bournemouth and his exploits eventually earned him his move to Leicester.

After 51 goals in 168 appearances for The Foxes, it would be his next move to Hull which would see him experience the other side of the FA Cup coin, as they reached the final against Arsenal in 2014.

He said: "It was a great occasion – everything I had dreamed of as a kid and the build up to the final was intense. I could probably appreciate the competition more then than when I was a youngster at Walsall. To reach the latter stages and then the final was fantastic – not many players do that in their career."

Hull went 2-0 up early on and eventually lost 3-2 but it didn't take the shine off the day for Fryatt.

He said: "We probably peaked to early against a wonderful Arsenal team who always just seemed to have that bit of class in them to take control of a game against any of the teams around them or in the Premier League.

"But it was a great contrast with the Slough game obviously and it shows the highs and lows of the competition which I still think is a great one for most players and fans."

On the Leicester game, Fryatt feels if Walsall can get at Leicester from the start they may have a chance in the game.

He said: "In the previous round at Gillingham, I thought they sat back a bit too much and were probably afraid of playing a Premier League team – I don't think Walsall will be with their manager and the form they are in so I think it is all to play for, though Leicester will obviously be favourites.

"There is quite a bit of unrest at Leicester at the moment over their and this might be a competition they fancy a run in – on the other hand it depends what team they put out with some massive games coming up.

"They have the quality in the squad to win the game but won't fancy the tight pitch at Walsall and the form they are in suggests there is a chance of an upset but I'm not making any predictions."