Walsall v Forest Green - Match preview

The Saddlers were condemned to a crushing 4-0 defeat against Sutton United at Gander Green Lane on Saturday.

That result saw Forest Green replace Sutton at the foot of the table, after Rovers lost for the sixth match on the spin at Accrington Stanley.

Sadler wants to right the wrongs of Saturday’s defeat, and is looking to build momentum prior to the visit of Gillingham in the league at the weekend.

“It’s the next game, of course you want to get a bit of positivity back into it,” Sadler said. “You’ve got to get a bit of momentum for the weekend because there’s an important game against Gillingham next week.

“Off the back of that (the 4-0 defeat at Sutton), there’s certainly some sore heads.”

Walsall have lost six matches in a row in the EFL Trophy, including this season’s opener against Brighton & Hove Albion Under-21s, which ended in a 3-2 defeat at Bescot in August.

Forest Green prevailed 3-0 over Shrewsbury Town in their EFL Trophy opener, and would secure a place in the next round if they come away with three points against the Saddlers, who would be eliminated in the process.

Rovers quartet David Davis, Jacob Maddox, Troy Deeney and Matt Stevens previously played for the Saddlers

Walsall ran out 1-0 winners in their previous meeting against Forest Green at the New Lawn in February 2022, although Rovers have emerged victorious on their last two visits to Bescot.

In terms of team news, Sadler did issue an update on the progress of Rollin Menayese and Brandon Comley.

Menayese has been out since suffering an ankle injury on loan at Hartlepool in January, while an ankle issue has kept Comley on the sidelines since August.

However, Sadler has revealed that the pair are nearing a return to action, although they are still some way off starting.

“Possibly, we’ll have to see,” Sadler responded when asked if Menayese and Comley could feature against Forest Green.

“Some of those lads – Coms and Rollin – they are not too far away from being able to be used sometimes.

“I don’t think they’ll be able to start. So, we’ll just have to see how that looks at the start of the week.”

Liam Gordon jetted off on international duty with Guyana on Sunday evening and will be unavailable for this match and the one against Gillingham.

But Taylor Allen returns from his three-match suspension and will be eligible to play against his former club.

Priestley Farquharson (foot), David Okagbue (ankle) and Jack Earing (knee) are all expected to be unavailable for the Saddlers.