Walsall v Morecambe - Match preview

Momentum in football is everything. Walsall collected five wins from six games in League Two between a memorable Meadow Lane comeback win over Notts County on December 9 and a vintage 6-1 demolition of Grimsby Town on New Year’s Day.

That remarkable run of results lifted them away from the bottom end of the table and prompted whispered tones of a potential play-off push.

Instead, a three-match winless run has arrested Walsall’s ascent, while a second successive stalemate at Gillingham on Saturday saw them drop two places to 15th.

The table remains tight with just six points separating Walsall from the play-offs. They also boast a game in hand on many of the teams above them, but more dropped points will only see that gap increase rather than reduce.

Walsall have been strong on home soil under Mat Sadler with just two defeats from 13 matches (six wins, five draws) in the league.

The draw against Sutton United in the last home fixture ended a run of four wins on the spin in all competitions at Bescot.

Furthermore, strong defensive foundations have been key to the Saddlers’ solid showings in front of their own supporters.

Just 10 goals have been shipped at Bescot, which is a defensive record only bettered by Mansfield (nine) this term.

And returning to the topic of momentum, February is set to be a hectic month, and it’s important that they rediscover the winning feeling sooner rather than later.

That’s precisely what they achieved by beating Notts County in December ahead of a frantic festive fixture pile-up, and what they failed to do by losing at home to Harrogate in the first league game of a negative November.

In essence, Morecambe needs to be the night that Walsall recover from their mini-blip.

The positives are that performances have been good, but that can only last so long if results continue to wane.

The relentless nature of League Two is set to intensify again with Walsall playing every four days between now and the opening weekend on March.

That could explain why Sadler has been cautious to ease the likes of Joe Riley, Ross Tierney and Ryan Stirk back into the squad.

Stirk has featured twice from the bench since suffering an ankle injury on Boxing Day, while Tierney made his return at Gillingham.

Riley travelled to Kent with the squad but is yet to be included in a match day squad since November.

Aramide Oteh could be in contention following four months out with a hamstring injury, although Harry Williams (hip), Oisin McEntee (hamstring) and Danny Johnson (toe) remain unavailable.