Cheltenham vs Walsall - George Bennett preview - video Dailymotion

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Cheltenham vs Walsall - George Bennett preview

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00:00Hi folks, Walsall will be travelling to Cheltenham Town for their rescheduled fixture this evening.

00:09They were due to play them at the start of January but the game was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

00:17So, a chance for Walsall to try and build on what was a really good away win against Morecambe on Saturday.

00:25Obviously arrested a run of three successive away defeats in League 2.

00:31It was the first win on the road since New Year's Day.

00:35First clean sheet as well in 2025 for the Sadlers.

00:39So, lots of positives to reflect on.

00:42Walsall went through that mini mid-season blip which was starting to gather quite some concern.

00:52But now back-to-back wins against Chesterfield and Morecambe in League 2.

00:58So, eight points clear at the top, nine points clear of the trail impact in the play-off spots.

01:03So, it does feel like Walsall are back on track.

01:07In terms of that game on Saturday, the midfield set-up worked extremely well.

01:13The dynamics just seemed to click.

01:15Brandon Conley came in for his first league start of the campaign with Charlie Lakin dropping out due to a sickness bug.

01:23Conley performed a really disciplined role as we became accustomed to seeing during the previous campaign.

01:32Not quite had those minutes this season.

01:34Suffered with a couple of injuries below Ryan Sturck in the pecking order.

01:39But he came into that holding slot.

01:41Ryan Sturck technically started as an eight but cleverly kind of alternated between the six and the eight roles.

01:48And dropped in alongside Conley as part of a double pivot.

01:52And then on the transition, slotted into and stepped up into the eight role.

01:57And that kind of set-up really liberated Jamie Jellis who was able to kind of hover between the lines and dictate play.

02:07He produced a top draw performance which he capped off with Walsall's second goal and his seventh of the season.

02:14So, it feels like we spoke to him after the game and he said he'd been struggling with illness.

02:19And it took him a while to shake it off.

02:21But he feels now that he's really starting to reach his highest levels once again.

02:26Which is great news to hear.

02:29Whether Charlie Lakin will be back or not remains to be seen.

02:35Obviously missed that game with a sickness bug.

02:38So, Matt Sadler was unable to really confirm whether he will be available.

02:43Harry Williams was an unused substitute at Morecambe.

02:47Matt Sadler said prior to that game that he was available.

02:51He'd obviously come off against Chesterfield in the 3-1 win in the second half.

02:55Sadler said that he'd had a knee issue.

02:58But then when I spoke to him last week said he was okay.

03:01And he was available for selection.

03:03He'd trained on the Tuesday and Thursday.

03:05But then when we spoke to Matt Sadler full-time.

03:08And tried to speak to him about a reason why Williams wasn't involved.

03:13He said that his knee had been bandaged up.

03:16And he just felt that he needed a breather and a rest.

03:20So, whether he comes back in again remains to be seen.

03:24Josh Gordon ruled out for two months with another hamstring problem.

03:28Last week Donovan, Daniels, Priestley, Farquharson, George Hall and Jack Earing.

03:33All still out.

03:34In terms of the opposition.

03:35Cheltenham, very strong on home soil.

03:38And obviously managed by former Sadler's boss Michael Flynn.

03:43Had a challenging start to his time at Wadham Road.

03:47But he's really turned things around.

03:50And yeah, at Wadham Road they've made it somewhat of a fortress.

03:53Six wins from their last eight on home soil in League Two.

03:57Three wins in a row on their own stomping grounds.

04:01So not an easy place to go.

04:03And you know, Sadler alluded to that in his press conference the other day.

04:08So yeah, a challenging evening for Walsall possibly.

04:12But they will be hoping that they can use Morecambe as a platform.

04:16To continue that improvement on the road.

04:19Obviously 26 points now away from home for Walsall.

04:23Which has surpassed their away points tally from the previous campaign.

04:29So hopefully Walsall can now continue to get back on track.

Cheltenham vs Walsall - George Bennett preview

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