Comment: Walsall enter 'make or break' territory in League Two promotion race

Just goal difference separates Walsall from the chasing pack in the play-off spots, a far cry from the 12-point lead they boasted at the League Two summit on January 18. 

But it could've been much worse. Had Doncaster Rovers not been held to a 1-1 draw at Salford City on Tuesday night then the Saddlers would've slipped out of the automatic promotion places for the first time since September 7.

Current form makes it difficult to envisage a revival over the next four games but Walsall have a prime opportunity to prove their critics wrong. 

Only three teams have collected fewer points on their travels than Good Friday opponents Harrogate Town (15) and another defeat on home soil could spell disaster for Walsall. 

The rot needs to stop, and if it doesn't, then Walsall will inevitably find themselves plummeting into the lottery of the play-offs (and we all fear how that could possibly end). 

Home form has largely been reliable under Sadler. They beat promoted trio Stockport County, Wrexham and Mansfield Town respectively and finished his debut campaign with their best home record since lifting the League Two title under Richard Money in 2006/07. 

Walsall emerged with 11 wins from their first 14 games on their own stomping ground but Bescot has not been the fortress that it once was of late. 

They have failed to win in each of their past four home games and have collected just a single home victory since the start of February (drawing three, losing three). 

Form on their own patch will be crucial during the run-in. Regardless of the form guide, Harrogate and Accrington Stanley are two teams that Walsall simply cannot afford to drop points against. 

That leads to the question of how many points Walsall need to get the job done? It's a guessing game but two wins and a draw should be suffice to keep them above the dotted line.

The one saving grace is that most of the teams in the promotion battle still have to play each other. 

Key fixtures in League Two promotion battle

• Bradford City vs Notts County (April 17 at 8pm)
• Port Vale vs Grimsby Town (April 21 at 3pm)
• Doncaster vs Colchester (April 21 at 3pm)
• Doncaster vs Bradford (April 26 at 12:30pm) 
• AFC Wimbledon vs Port Vale (April 26 at 12:30pm)
• Notts County vs Doncaster (May 3 at 3pm) 
• Grimsby vs Wimbledon (May 3 at 3pm)

Notts County travel to Valley Parade to face Bradford City tonight, while the Bantams visit Doncaster and AFC Wimbledon host Port Vale on the penultimate weekend of the season. 

Wimbledon also face a tough trip to play-off chasers Grimsby Town and Notts County welcome Doncaster to Meadow Lane on the final day. 

That means that those at the top end will still be taking points off one another but there is very little wriggle room for Walsall to remain complacent. 

The bottom line is that results, and more importantly wins, need to return, or else Sadler could find himself on the end of an irrecoverable amount of backlash.