Preview:Morecambe vs. Walsall - prediction, team news, lineups

Morecambe and Walsall will do battle against each other in their 2023-24 League Two curtain-raiser at the Mazuma Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams endured largely disappointing league campaigns last time out, and they will be keen to kick off on a positive note this time around.

Match preview

Morecambe wrapped up their preparation for the new season with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wigan Athletic in Saturday's friendly encounter.

Derek Adams's men fell behind in the 18th minute to Thelo Aasgaard's opener before Luke Brennan put the result beyond doubt in second-half stoppage time.

That brought an end to the Shrimps' three-game unbeaten run, where they netted an impressive 14 goals and let in just three at the other end of the pitch.

Awaiting them next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who have managed to come out on top in only one of the previous five meetings between the teams.

Currently on a run of one clean sheet in five home matches leading up to this weekend, Saturday's hosts will be looking to keep things at the back en route to a positive result in front of their fans.

Walsall breezed past the threat of Solihull Moors thanks to an emphatic 3-0 triumph in the sides' warm-up fixture at The ARMCO Arena on Saturday.

Off the back of a drab first half, goals from Liam Gordon, Isaac Hutchinson and Ronan Maher saw Mat Sadler's men get the job done in style.

As a result, the Saddlers have gone unbeaten in their entire pre-season campaign and are without defeat in six straight outings across all competitions.

Having emerged victorious in their most recent two away involvements by a combined score of 7-1, Saturday's visitors will be confident of getting the job done on enemy territory once again.