Preview: Swindon Town vs. Walsall - prediction, team news, lineups

Round 23 of the 2022-23 League Two season sees Swindon Town entertain the challenge of Walsall at the County Ground on Monday afternoon.

Off the back of respective victories in their last outings, the sides head into this one on a high and will look to pick up where they left off.

Match preview

Swindon Town ended a run of five games across all competitions without a win courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Barrow at Holker Street on Saturday.

The game was decided in the seventh minute as Louis Reed kept his cool from 12 yards to hand Scott Lindsey's men all three points in a hard-fought contest.

As a result, the Robins have moved up to fourth place in the League Two table, seven points behind Northampton Town in the race for the final automatic promotion spot.

Next up is the task of facing off against an opposing side who have come out on top in just one of the last five meetings between the teams, losing the other four.

However, that solitary triumph did come in the most recent edition of this fixture back in August when Monday's hosts claimed a comprehensive 2-0 victory in the EFL Cup.

Walsall made it three wins on the spin as they saw off the threat of Doncaster Rovers in a 2-0 victory at the Eco-Power Stadium on December 2.

Off the back of a drab opening 45 minutes of action, second-half goals from Tom Knowles and Danny Johnson got the job done for Michael Flynn's men.

Having picked up 30 points from 20 matches so far, the Saddlers sit 11th in the league standings, three points behind the last playoff spot with a game in hand.

Currently on a run of three consecutive clean sheets away from home leading up to Monday's clash, the away side will be looking to put on another solid defensive display on enemy territory.

Team News

Swindon's Angus MacDonald made his comeback from an injury layoff last time out, and the defender is expected to feature right from the off once again.

With five goals and five assists apiece, Jacob Wakeling has directly contributed to more goals for the home side than any of his teammates, making the 21-year-old one to keep an eye on.

Following his clincher against Doncaster, Danny Johnson is now up to 11 league strikes for the campaign, which leaves him just two shy of Sam Hoskins at the top of the scoring charts.

Jacob Maddox had to make do with a place on the visitors' bench last time out, but the Englishman could be recalled to the starting XI for this one.

Swindon Town possible starting lineup:

Brynn; Lavinier, Blake-Tracey, MacDonald, Hutton; Williams, Reed, Darcy; Shade, Wakeling, Iandolo

Walsall possible starting lineup:

Evans; Monthe, Daniels, White; Gordon, Earing, Kinsella, Bennett; Hutchinson, Johnson, Knowles

We say: Swindon Town 1-1 Walsall

Walsall are in the more in-form team heading into this one, but Swindon have proven themselves to be a tough nut to crack in front of their fans. We are anticipating a close contest with honours even at the end of the 90 minutes.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.