PREVIEW | Walsall vs Chesterfield - team news, lineups, predictions

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·14 May 2025

PREVIEW | Walsall vs Chesterfield - team news, lineups, predictions

Walsall and Chesterfield go head-to-head at Poundland Bescot Stadium this Friday in the second leg of the two sides' EFL League Two play-off semi-final. The match will be broadcast live at 20:00 on Sky Sports Football.

The Saddlers, who finished just outside the automatic promotion slots during the regular season. enter the contest with a two-goal advantage following their 2-0 away win in the first leg last Sunday.

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Goals from Taylor Allen and Alfie Chang currently separate the two sides, but Chesterfield should not be written off just yet - particularly as the Spireites have won more league games (10) by three or more goals than any team in The 92 this season.

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Bescot Banter (Bescot Banter): Last weekend's two-goal triumph at the Spireites' SMH Group Stadium was a welcome return to form for the recently struggling Saddlers.

Entering one of their strongest performances of the season, happy to allow their opponents to take control of the ball, Mat Sadler's men gave Chesterfield nothing but scraps to feed upon for much of the game, but remained able to thwart some of their stronger advances when they came along.

Scoring via Player of the Season Taylor Allen and on-loan Birmingham City man Alfie Chang, even the most rose-tinted Saddlers would've been surprised at the level the team achieved, especially after a recent thirteen game winless run that saw the team slip from automatic promotion back into the Play-Offs.

However, as the gaffer said in his post-match musings on Sunday, we're only at the half-time stage, and a two-goal lead is far from insurmountable, meaning the team will have to enter an equal if not stronger performance under the lights on Friday evening.

Making their way to WS1 on the back of a first defeat in seven games, the visitors have it all to play for and can't simply be overlooked, especially with the Saddlers' proud history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Going into battle once more, the team will need all the thousands of fans set to 'Pack the Poundland' to be behind them from kick-off to full-time as they look to take a step closer to potential promotion. Up the Saddlers!

Prediction: 1-1

Tom Atkins (SpireitesWrite):

Prediction: 2-3

Predicted lineups

Walsall: Tommy Simkin, Harry Williams, David Okagbue, Taylor Allen, Nathan Asiimwe, Alfie Chang, Jamie Jellis, Ryan Stirk, Liam Gordon, Jamille Matt, George Hall

Chesterfield: Ryan Boot, Liam Mandeville, Kyle McFadzean, Ash Palmer, Lewis Gordon, Tom Naylor, John Fleck, Michael Olakigbe, Jenson Metcalfe, Ryan Colclough, Will Grigg

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MANAGERS

Mat Sadler faced Paul Cook on three occasions, recording two victories and one draw
Paul Cook faced Walsall on seven occasions, recording three victories, one draw, and three defeats
Mat Sadler faced Chesterfield on three occasions, recording two victories and one draw

TEAMS

Away from home, Chesterfield currently has one defeat in the last six games.
Away from home, Chesterfield comes from two consecutive games without losing.
Chesterfield currently has two defeats in the last 14 games.
At home, Walsall currently has five defeats in the last 22 games.
At home, Walsall currently has one win in the last nine games.
At home, Walsall comes from 11 consecutive games conceding goals.
At home, Walsall comes from six consecutive games without winning.
Walsall currently has one defeat in the last five games.
Walsall currently has two wins in the last 15 games.
Walsall comes from two consecutive games without losing.
Walsall comes from two consecutive victories.

HEAD TO HEAD

Walsall and Chesterfield have faced each other 98 times, with Walsall having the advantage: 36 wins, against 32 victories for Chesterfield.
At Poundland Bescot Stadium, Walsall has an advantage in clashes against Chesterfield: 25 wins in 50 matches. Chesterfield has ten victories.
In the EFL League Two, 13 matches have been played between the two teams, with Walsall winning six, four draws, and three victories for Chesterfield.