Walsall vs Chesterfield - prediction, team news, lineups

Looking to record a fourth straight competitive victory, Walsall welcome fellow promotion hopefuls Chesterfield to Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium on Saturday afternoon in League Two.

The Saddlers were successful in the EFL Trophy earlier in the week, whilst the Spireites suffered a humiliating defeat in the same competition.

Match preview

After an almighty collapse during the second half of the 2024-25 campaign, Walsall are aiming to escape the stresses of League Two at the seventh attempt, with Saturday's hosts dreaming of a place in the third tier of English football for the first time since 2019.

The Saddlers are on the verge of enjoying four straight competitive wins for the first time since January following three consecutive triumphs to conclude August and commence September, with the most recent of those arriving via a 3-1 scoreline in the EFL Trophy at Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday night.

Focusing on league matters, last Saturday afternoon saw Mat Sadler's troops make the journey down to promotion rivals MK Dons, with former Birmingham City midfielder Charlie Lakin scoring his first goal of the 2025-26 season to snatch maximum points for the visitors.

Conceding just four goals across six League Two matches so far this term, only league-leading Gillingham (3) and the aforementioned Dons of Milton Keynes (3) have been breached on fewer occasions, although Walsall's strike rate of six goals from as many contests needs to be improved.

In fairness to the Saddlers' forward ranks, many of their key players are still settling into the West Midlands club following moves during the summer transfer window, with loanee Daniel Kanu and Aaron Pressley joining from Charlton Athletic and Stevenage respectively.

Following a largely-successful August and start to the 2025-26 term, September commenced in sensationally-poor fashion for League One-chasing Chesterfield on Tuesday night, when they were the victims of a Crewe crusade at Mornflake Stadium.

A match in the early stages of the EFL Trophy's Northern Section soon turned into the scene of a Spireites slaughtering, with a hat-trick from Stoke City loanee Emre Tezgel the clear highlight of a 7-1 victory for the efficient Railwaymen earlier this week.

Looking to put their heaviest defeat of the last decade firmly behind them, Chesterfield return to League Two affairs on Saturday afternoon boasting 13 points from six matches so far, meaning that they sit second in the standings, one point behind leaders Gillingham.

Whilst the Mornflake mauling is likely to play on the minds of the Spireites for the foreseeable future, Paul Cook's men possess some good recent memories of away matches, including their latest fourth-tier outing on August 23, when goals from defender Cheyenne Dunkley and playmaker Ronan Darcy secured a 2-1 triumph.

Approaching his 200th game in charge of the club during his second stint at SMH Group Stadium, head coach Cook is no stranger to success as Chesterfield chase down promotion this season, with the 58-year-old having three promotions on his managerial CV.

Walsall League Two form:

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Walsall form (all competitions):

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Chesterfield League Two form:

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Chesterfield form (all competitions):

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Team News

Despite both finding the net at Shrewsbury earlier in the week, Walsall pair Albert Adomah and Ryan Finnigan should drop to the bench on Saturday afternoon.

The Saddlers are without the services of club captain Brandon Comley, who has been selected for international duty with Montserrat.

Also starting the victory over the Shrews, young centre-back Dan Cox is representing Wales Under-21s over the next week.

Expect a swift reversion to a first-choice XI for Chesterfield after Tuesday's Crewe embarrassment, with Dylan Duffy and Armando Dobra providing major threat from the flanks.

Left-back Adam Lewis was a bright spark for the Spireites last time out and found the net, although the 25-year-old has managed just 27 League Two minutes this term.

Walsall possible starting lineup:

Roberts; Farquharson, Flint, Burke; Warrington, Barrett, Jellis, Harper, Lakin; Pressley, Kanu

Chesterfield possible starting lineup:

Hemming; Daley-Campbell, Dunkley, McFadzean, Gordon; Dibley-Dias, Strik, Dobra, Darcy, Duffy; Bonis

We say: Walsall 2-1 Chesterfield

After Chesterfield's heavy defeat at Crewe, it is unlikely that they come flying out of the blocks this Saturday, even if they make 11 changes to the EFL Trophy side.

As a result, this weekend could be a good time for Walsall to get one over a promotion rival at the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium.

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