'Walsall Don't Go Into Any Game With Any Fear' – A Look At The Saddlers
- Leicester City face Walsall at Bescot Stadium in the Emirates FA Cup
- The fourth-round tie kicks off at 12:30pm on Saturday
- Journalist Paul Jenkins has previewed the tie earlier this week
- He says the Saddlers are looking forward to facing a Premier League side
The Foxes head to the West Midlands on Saturday for a 12:30pm kick-off against Michael Flynn's Saddlers, 11th in Sky Bet League 2. Jenkins, a regular follower of Walsall, believes the two-time fourth-tier champions are excited by the challenge.
"He’s going to play the strongest team possible," Jenkins said. "It’s a squad which is a bit thin, or has been. He’s just brought back Brendan Kiernan from a loan spell at Grimsby, a midfielder. He has added a couple in the transfer window as well.
"Robbie Willmott, from his former club Newport, who is going to be available is one of those. The big news, really, in the transfer window is that they lost 14-goal striker Danny Johnson to Mansfield. It will be a pretty strong team.
"Who he picks as his front two is debatable, but it is needs must. It will have to be a pretty strong team I think. It’s a sell-out, so it’ll be eight or nine thousand. That will be unusual for the players as they’ve been getting around 6,000 in recent games.
"They have a great atmosphere, but it’s going to be a bit special on Saturday. It’s a tight ground with a tight pitch. That could be a bit of a leveller, but we’ll have to see how Leicester adapt to that.
"The management and the players are looking forward to testing themselves against a Premier League team, but they’re not going into it with any fear. I don’t think Walsall go into any games with any fear at the moment.
"They started off beating Wycombe away, from a division above, and that was a good win. They beat Stockport away too, which a lot of people thought was a tricky tie.
"They’ll be going into it with confidence, but obviously they know they’re playing Premier League opposition who can pull something out of the hat at any point. I think they’re realistic but hopeful of putting in a good showing."
Regardless of the result on Saturday, Jenkins is confident that Walsall can mount a challenge to finish in the play-off positions this season. As soon as the full-time whistle blows against Leicester, he says full focus will be on achieving that goal.
"They’ve had a great run, losing just one in 14 games," he added. "You could say the FA Cup’s a bit of a distraction, but they’ve seen it as a chance to raise the profile and bring a bit of money in.
"They were a bit disappointed they weren’t a live pick for the TV. I went to the press conference today and there’s a big buzz around the place. Saying that, whatever happens on Saturday, the focus will be on the league after that.
"They’re in a very good position, with a couple of games in hand on their rivals, to make a play-off push. They’ve got a big schedule coming up, with Saturday-Tuesday games, a lot of teams have with the big freeze."
All times GMT.