It’s back to League action this week for the Saddlers and a game at home that they really should win. While Walsall were passing their first round FA Cup test at Merthyr, Gillingham were, of course, suffering one of the shocks of the round, going out to non league Burscough. The question may well revolve around how well their manager has picked them up from that particular disaster.

Gillingham Manager Neale Cooper would be tearing his hair out, if he had any. He has inevitable selection problems with Flynn (banned), Hessenthaler (hamstring) and Cox (international duty) out. Paul Merson has also denied the on loan Paul Smith permission to play against his current club. The opposition will, most of all, be hoping for the return of some strikers, as that is where they have suffered most from injuries this season. All in all, however, the Gills will still be missing ten players, for one reason or another, but Cooper can welcome two players back into the squad. He said: “Darren Byfield, Andy Hessenthaler, Paul Smith, Jason Brown, Danny Jackman, Ian Cox, Brent Sancho, Alan Pouton, Steven Hislop and Michael Flynn are all out. That’s not a bad side! The positive is that Daniel Spiller has been back training this week, along with Paul Shields. They have not done a lot though, so it is a big task for them to come straight in.”

Gillingham’s injury problems do make ours pale in comparison, especially given that they have a much smaller squad to start with and the Manager has been desperately trying to bring in some loan reinforcements this week, seemingly unsuccessfully.

The ex Saddlers in the team will, therefore, both be missing tomorrow, but there may be better news of the Saddlers’ ex Gill, Simon Osborn, who looks like he may be fit following his hamstring injury. The Express and Star said yesterday that he might have recovered enough to take part. Chris Westwood and Dario Larrossa are also expected to be ready to return, Joe Murphy will be back after being unavailable for the Cup Tie and we are still waiting to hear about the possible loan signing of Eric Skora from Preston. With any luck, however, we might see a much stronger looking line up, something along the lines of:

Murphy, Gerrard, Roper, Westwood or Bennett, Fox, Broad, Osborn, Taylor, Demontagnac or Skora, Leitao and Fryatt, with a bench including Gillmartin, Kinsella, Westwood or Bennett and Larrossa.

Whatever the Saddlers’ line up, it has to be stronger than the Gills, especially as they must be short on confidence. Their away record is one of the poorest in the Division, as it is:

Played 7, Won 0, Drawn 4, Lost 3, Scored 5, Conceded 11, Points 4

They can’t score away from home and are leaking goals. I keep saying that I’m going to give up predictions, but this surely has to be a comfortable home win.