Walsall FC's Sam Mantom looking to make old Oldham pals pay

The 21-year-old spent time on loan at the Latics from Albion in 2011 and is back as part of a Walsall side looking to record their first win at Boundary Park in six years.

But the team he will face could not be more different to the one he left, following a summer overhaul by new boss Lee Johnson.

Gone is the long-ball tactic of the past, with Johnson trying to implement a passing style similar to that of the Saddlers, having made no secret of his admiration for the job Dean Smith has done at the Banks's.

With both sides having won their opening League One fixtures – the hosts earning a thrilling 4-3 win at Stevenage – it all points to an entertaining encounter.

And Mantom is determined to put one over on his old club.

"I'm going back to my old stomping ground," he said. "It will be nice to go back there and play. But we are going there full of confidence.

"Most of the old lads have moved on. I know a few faces. I lived with some of them. But as the saying goes you forget what has happened in the past and who your friends are.

"If there is a 50-50 I'm going to try to win it and I don't care if I hurt them or not."

Impressing

Mantom is expected to start alongside Adam Chambers in midfield for the Saddlers after shaking off a slight hamstring injury.

But Andy Taylor will again miss out after aggravating an ankle injury suffered in pre-season, so Mal Benning continues at left-back.

Milan Lalkovic is also fit to start having had no ill-effects following Tuesday's cup win at Port Vale. Romaine Sawyers is again likely to be on the bench despite impressing as a substitute in both games so far.

The hosts will be without former Stevenage forward Jonson Clarke-Harris after he limped out of their 1-0 Capital One Cup defeat at Derby.

Charlie MacDonald, a summer acquisition from Leyton Orient, is expected to start up front alongside Adam Rooney for the hosts.

The former Birmingham striker was signed last week, while Johnson also brought in attacking midfielder James Dayton from Falkirk over the summer as part of his rebuild.

"Lee Johnson has come in and tried to change the club around," added Mantom. "When I was there they were more direct and played off the front man but I think now they want to move it and pass it and try and cause problems in that way.

"We know that if we play well on the day we can out-pass them and out-work anyone in the league.

"We are happy with the way our season has started. We have played two games and we've dominated both. We are scoring goals for fun and seem to be really solid at the back, which is always important."

Saddlers boss Smith believes his side will need to be at their best defensively in order to tackle Oldham's new-look forward line.

The manager was impressed with how his side stood up to the aerial assault of Port Vale on Tuesday and believes they will need to be similarly solid at Boundary Park.

"We looked organised and resilient on Tuesday" he said. "We had Oldham's game against Stevenage watched. There were a few bookings but it was end-to-end, they look like they will score goals so we've got to be at our best defensively. But there were three goals conceded, so it looks like we will get some chances too."