James Heneghan's Walsall v Northampton Town preview

Date/time: Saturday, February 15, 3pm kick-off

Venue: Bescot Stadium

Forecast: 12C, heavy rain (and strong winds!)

Outs and doubts: Walsall: Rory Gaffney, James Clarke, Callum Cockerill-Mollett. Cobblers: Alan McCormack, James Olayinka, Harry Smith, Shaun McWilliams

Betting: Walsall 6/4, draw 12/5, Northampton 7/4

Form guide: Walsall DWLLLW, Cobblers LLLWWD

Current league positions: 15th v 6th

Possible line-ups: Walsall (4-5-1): Roberts; Facey, Scarr, Sadler (c), Pring; Gordon, Sinclair, Sheron, Kinsella, Holden; Lavery. Northampton (3-5-2): Cornell; Jones, Goode, Wharton; Turnbull, Watson, Anderson, Marshall, Adams; Oliver, Morton

Man in the middle: Ben Toner

Last time out: Newport 0 Walsall 0; Northampton 0 Swindon 1

Most recent meeting: Saturday, August 3, 2019 - Northampton 0 Walsall 1 (Clarke)

Record v Walsall: P81 W32 D15 L34

James Heneghan's preview: The scene for one of the darkest days in Northampton's recent history is the setting this weekend as the Cobblers bid to revive their promotion challenge with victory over mid-table Walsall.

Town's most recent trip to the Bescot Stadium, in the spring of 2018, effectively sealed their relegation to League Two as George Dobson's cruel late winner, scored in the 90th minute, left them three points adrift of safety - and a far inferior goal difference worse off - with just one game to go.

Thankfully things are looking rather more rosy as they head back to the midlands on Saturday although the importance of this fixture in their season has suddenly escalated following back-to-back home defeats against Port Vale and Swindon Town.

Three points over Darrell Clarke's Saddlers is just the tonic everyone needs and would get things back on track again but a third straight defeat, by contrast, could well drop them outside the play-off places, just a few days after eyes were on the automatic promotion spots.

Dobson's goal in 2018 helped Walsall survive relegation by the skin of their teeth during the same season but it was only a stay of execution. Relegated the following year, their first season back in League Two has not gone according to plan.

Clarke was appointed just a week after last season ended and, like Keith Curle, opted for wholesale changes in the summer, making 13 signings in total and it was one of those new players - James Clarke - that headed them to victory at the PTS on the opening day.

But the Saddlers struggled to kick-on from that strong start, not winning again until late September and by then their hopes of bouncing straight back to League One already looked a long way off.

However, although they currently occupy a disappointing 15th place in League Two, their last two fixtures have yielded positive results with a win at Forest Green Rovers and a draw at Newport County.

Walsall's home record this season, though, is among the poorest in the division with only Stevenage and Mansfield collecting fewer than their 16 points from 16 games. They also struggle to score goals, netting just 13 goals in those 16 matches.

So that should give the Cobblers a little more confidence as they make the short journey up the M1 although first the game will have to survive Storm Dennis, which is threatening to wreak havoc with the sporting schedule this weekend. Winds of 45mph and heavy rain are forest so, if it does go ahead, prepare yourself for another grim afternoon.

But, should the Cobblers return home with three priceless points, none of that will matter.

Prediction: Walsall 1 Northampton Town 1