Football – England – League One
Saturday 15th December 2012 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Walsall take on mid-table Yeovil Town at the Bescot Stadium on Saturday afternoon as they bid to record their first league win in twelve matches and move away from the relegation danger zone.
After a promising start to the season where Walsall had a good August and September with The Saddlers winning five of their first nine matches along with points against Oldham Athletic and Brentford, they have since endured a dangerous downward spiral in form and have picked up just a further five points from a possible 36 on offer.
It’s now six home matches without a win and Walsall’s home record now stands at 2-3-5 12/19 with recent defeats to Leyton Orient, Carlisle United, a devastating 1-4 loss to Scnthorpe United and a 0-2 loss to Swindon Town has resulted in the midlands outfit remaining in the bottom quarter of the division.
George Bowerman (6 goals) is Walsall’s leading scorer but he was left on the bench in their recent 1-5 drubbing at Coventry City, while Jamie Paterson (3 goals, 4 assists) and William Grigg (3 goals, 3 assists) represent the other attacking dangers in their armoury.
Visitors Yeovil Town have put in some slightly better performances than their hosts in recent weeks with wins over Hartlepool United and Crawley Town but they’ve also lost a couple against Swindon Town and Carlisle United along with a draw last weekend earning a good point against Notts County in a 0-0 draw.
Yeovil’s away record stands at a no-nonsense 5-0-5 18/17 and it appears it’s either a win or nothing for them so far this season. Recent defeats at Tranmere Rovers and Swindon Town have been understandable while they’ve secured maximum points at Shrewsbury, Crewe and Crawley which suggests they are good enough to get a point at the Bescot on Saturday.
Forwards James Hayter and Patrick Madden (6 goals each) are Yeovil’s leading scorers and they have great support in Sam Foley (3 goals, 5 assists), Edward Upson (5 assists) and Jamie McAllister (4 assists). They also Reuben Reid and Gozie Ugwu (3 goals apiece) coming off the bench to give manager Gary Johnson plenty of attacking options.
In summary, out of these two teams, Yeovil are definitely in the better shape and also appear to have more options in attack so I’ll back the visitors with the quarter ball behind me at a good price as Yeovil shouldn’t lose this match. Could be a 1-1 draw or Yeovil squeak out a narrow 2-1 win.
Pick; Yeovil Town AH+0.25 @ 1.90 Pinnacle looks good value
