George Bennett's predicted Walsall XI

31/03/2025

Transcript

00:00Hi, it's Sadler's fans. It's time for my predicted 11 ahead of Walsall's trip to promotion rivals Doncaster Rovers on Tuesday night.

00:10Starting in goal, Sam Hornby has been given the nod over Tommy Simpkin.

00:16Despite the fact that Simpkin returned from international duty on Saturday, Hornby remained between the sticks.

00:22He obviously kept a clean sheet against Dillingham and I put out a poll on Twitter ahead of the Wimbledon game

00:29and it was kind of really split, maybe just leaning towards Simpkin, but it was Hornby who started for the Sadlers.

00:38And aside from a few uncertain moments in terms of distribution in the first 20-25 minutes,

00:46he eventually settled down and produced a number of good saves, really, including one in the build-up to Omar Bugiel's goal.

00:54There was very little he could do about what was a precise finish into the bottom corner by the Wimbledon striker.

01:01In the defence, I think Oshin McKenzie has been in fantastic form of late.

01:06He did miss out on a duel in the build-up to Wimbledon's opener, but I thought in the air, very commanding.

01:15Great in terms of his distribution and the balls into the right channels a couple of times.

01:21Jealous, latched on to those. So, yeah, I think for me, he keeps his place.

01:24David Icagbue was rather uncertain, I thought, in the centre of defence.

01:28There was one occasion in particular where he kind of delayed what should have been a simple pass to Oshin McKenzie

01:35and instead turned round to Taylor Allen and played him into trouble.

01:40So, that could be an area where Matt Sadler may be looking to freshen things up, possibly.

01:48But I also wouldn't be surprised if he goes with the same defence.

01:51Obviously, Donovan Daniels has been on the bench, not played a lot of football,

01:55so it would be a major risk to put him in a game of this magnitude.

02:01Obviously, Harry Williams was omitted from the squad and it's kind of been a little bit controversial that he was left out.

02:08Sadler alluded to the fact that he's got a wealth of defensive options,

02:12but it could be one where you look to recall him and play him in the heart of that defence

02:17and then Taylor Allen keeps his place.

02:19I thought he looked back to his best on Saturday and scored a superb free kick.

02:24That's now his third free kick.

02:26Obviously, scored directly from a corner against Notts County earlier in the season as well.

02:31A stat popped up this week stating that he scored the most six goals from outside the box

02:40across the 92 clubs in England's top four divisions.

02:43So, you know, an outstanding feat for a player playing it left centre-back in Holden Midfield.

02:50Yeah, I think Ryan Stokes is going to be giving the nod over Brandon Conley there.

02:55Struggled in patches on Saturday, but overall, I think, you know,

03:00especially in that last 20 minutes, really got stuck in and battled.

03:03So, yeah, I think he keeps his place there.

03:05And then, you know, another contentious area, is it right wing-back with the fact that Nathan Isimwe

03:14is deputised for Connor Barrett during his two-match suspension.

03:19Took about 20 minutes to grow into that game against Gillingham,

03:22but then really proved his worth.

03:24And that was obviously a clean sheet on his first league start.

03:27And yeah, just grew in confidence from that.

03:29Really put in a really good display against Wimbledon.

03:32I thought he was Walsall's most dangerous player going forward.

03:35The amount of times he sort of chopped in and out and looked to take on his man

03:39and get balls into the box, a really dangerous threat.

03:42And I like the look of him.

03:43Jamie Jellis, I mean, it's kind of been a preferred choice in that right centre-midfield role now

03:50for the whole of the campaign.

03:53Maybe over-complicated things in patches on Saturday,

03:57but I'd be very surprised if he's not in the starting 11.

04:01In an ideal world, George Hall really comes in, but will Matt Sadler risk him?

04:07He talked about the fact that he sees him playing a vital role between now

04:12and the end of the season.

04:13But coming off the back of a four-month absence,

04:16obviously had sort of a terrible injury record in terms of hamstring injuries

04:21over the past couple of years.

04:23I can imagine he's still going to try and ease him back into the fold.

04:26But if he's fit to start, he would go into my 11.

04:29But I think probably Charlie Lakin's going to start in that left centre-midfield role.

04:33I'd expect Liam Gordon to keep his place at left wing-back

04:36and then we get to the striker positions, really.

04:38And that's where it gets difficult.

04:40I mean, Ethan Wheatley missed a game due to illness.

04:42He was unavailable on Saturday, so it's unclear whether he'll be available.

04:46Then there's Ellis Harrison, who's missed the last two games with a hamstring injury.

04:51Matt Sadler said now that he is in contention.

04:54But again, is he fit to start?

04:57I guess that question will be answered come the team news announcement on Tuesday night.

05:03If he is fit, then he would go into my 11 alongside Jamil Matt.

05:07But I do feel probably once we get past these next two games,

05:14Doncaster and Port Vale, is it time to maybe start managing Jamil Matt's minutes?

05:19I just feel maybe these past sort of few weeks,

05:22he's looked a little bit off the pace at times.

05:24We all know what he can deliver.

05:26He's produced 12 goals this season and been a crucial figure for Walsall this campaign.

05:33And I feel if you can keep him fresh,

05:35then it sort of maximises his ability to produce more of those moments

05:40and you don't want him being ran into the ground in the business end of the campaign.

George Bennett's predicted Walsall XI

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