Lee Grant demands Walsall stop Port Vale’s revival at Bescot

Lee Grant has tasked Walsall with “halting” Port Vale’s momentum when they visit Bescot on Saturday lunch-time.

Local rivals Vale had failed to win any of their opening five games back in League Two, but finally got off the mark with a 1-0 home win over Exeter City last time out.

George Byers scored the only goal for the Valiants and boss Jon Brady has been calling for his side to use that confidence boost as a platform to build from.

“Their tails are up” - Grant on Port Vale

And Grant hopes that his side can prevent Vale from doing so, as they look to continue their unbeaten league start to the season.

“Their tails are up for sure. You listen to the manager this week and you look at their second half performance, it speaks of a team that is moving in the right direction,” Grant said.

“If you look at how they’ve been statistically over the course of the first five or six league games, they’re having more of the ball, they’re creating plenty of opportunities.

“Their gripe will probably quite interestingly be that they’ve not scored enough goals and not taken the chances that they’ve created.

“They’ve managed to get a good win against a tough team on the weekend. So it’s up to us to halt that momentum and get going for ourselves as well.”

There will be a few familiar faces in the Vale line-up, with ex-Saddlers trio Jackson Smith, Liam Gordon and George Hall now turning out for the visitors.

Gordon made 139 appearances during three seasons at Walsall, scoring seven goals and setting up seven more, before joining Vale in 2025.

Fellow ex-loanee Mo Faal is set for a considerable spell on the sidelines, while Tyreece Simpson is also still several weeks from full fitness.