The return of Julian Bennett will be the major boost for Walsall’s clash with Tranmere at Bescot tomorrow.

Ian Roper and Matty Fryatt should be out with their knee injuries, but there is a chance Fryatt could be fit for the bench. Neil Emblen is expected to carry on despite his neck problem and Herivelto could also feature after failing to make it off the bench against Wednesday. Mark Paston has, it transpires, a trapped nerve in his leg, which is the injury that has been the cause of some worry of late.

As for Tranmere, defender Gareth Roberts picked up an ankle knock in the draw with Barnsley but should be fit, while Gary Jones may return after a groin problem. Number one Keeper John Achteberg is sidelined with a knee ligament injury the Dutchman suffered at Hull, while Congolese striker Calvin Zola may again miss out due to problems with his UK residency.

Tranmere are currently third in the table with 42 points and are the sort of team we should be aspiring to beat at home, if we are to make a realistic promotion bid. Their away record is P 11 W 4 D 3 L 4 Scored 11 Conceeded 18, which is OK, but not the best, so I would expect a win for the Saddlers, 2 - 1.

There are also reports on the message board that South African striker Toni Nhleko has signed a contract, pending the transfer window opening and a work permit. We will bring you news of this as soon as we can.

We’re delighted to announce the signing of Neil Ravenscroft as news editor for UptheSaddlers.com. Neil has been plying his trade over on TheSaddlersFC where he has consistently broken major stories involving Walsall FC. Now thanks to Neil, Saddlers fans will be able to read the very latest news on this site, before our competitors, and contribute their opinions via our message board. Since its relaunch just over two weeks ago, UptheSaddlers has enjoyed record-breaking visitor figures, and with Neil at the reporting helm, 2005 should see the output move from strength to strength.

Supporting Neil will be OneNil and 4two, who have done a great job in covering Saddlers news and match reports on this site in recent months.

In another boost for UptheSaddlers, it has been confirmed tonight that AskTony Quiz Nights have signed a new 7-year sponsorship deal with this site guaranteeing the continuing publication of UptheSaddlers until at least the end of 2011. With continuing doubts as to the financial viability of other advertising-reliant official and unofficial Walsall sites, Saddlers fans can rest assured of the continued existence of this particular one.