[Swooperman]

Walsall v Tranmere

Preview from soccernet:

"Walsall player-manager Paul Merson will be without winger Ishmel Demontagnac for the clash with Tranmere at Bescot Stadium.
Demontagnac misses out as he serves the final game of a three-match ban, while on-loan Preston midfielder Eric Skora will be absent too after a knee injury forced his return to Deepdale for treatment.
Darren Wrack is still sidelined with a broken shin.
Meanwhile, Merson has revealed he is suffering from an Achilles' tendon problem having only recently recovered from a groin injury.
``I'm struggling at the moment and it's sore but I put myself out on the pitch to try and make something happen,'' he said.
Tranmere boss Brian Little is optimistic Chris Greenacre and Ian Goodison will be available to face the Saddlers.
Striker Greenacre (knee) and defender Goodison (thigh) missed the LDV Vans Trophy exit to Carlisle in midweek but have a good chance of featuring against the Saddlers at Prenton Park.
Forward Calvin Zola (back) will miss the festive programme as he is sidelined along with goalkeeper John Achterberg (stomach operation) and striker Chris Dagnall (injured leg)."
.......as quoted above Demontagnac is missing for the final game of his suspension, & Merson is rated only 50/50 but is likely to be on the bench as he was against Hartlepool to come on if Walsall are struggling with creativity. Fox is expected to be fit & apart from Wrack & Wright Walsall are at full strength, which means it'll be interesting to see if Roper & Gerrard will remain together in the centre of defence with so many games coming up.

Greenacre is Tranmeres leading scorer with 7 goals & if he doesnt make it he will be badly missed. Simon Francis returns after being cup tied.

Walsall are strong at home with a record of 6-3-2-18-14 & they havent lost at Bescot sinced mid-september. The 2 defeats have been Swansea 5-2 & Chesterfield 3-2 so without them Walsall have only conceded 6 in 9 home games. The last 5 home games have been 4-1-0-8-2 & they are unbeaten in 2 with a creditable draw at Forest & last weeks win over Hartlepool.
Tranmeres away record is 3-2-7-9-13 but their away wins have been Chesterfield, Doncaster & Scunny which are no mean feats. The last 5 away reads 2-1-2-6-5 but they havent won in 4 in the league & lost 4-1 at home to Brentford last week.

Walsalls fans have been rocked by the news that the highly popular striker Jorge Letaio is returning to Portugal in January due to personal problems where he will sign for Beira Mar. His last game will be the cup tie in the first week of january.
There are also 2 different sets of rumours that Fryatt is going in the window, or that he is leaving in the summer & signing for Villa. The rumour being that Eric Skoras injury isnt as bad as first feared but he was recalled by Preston as walsall broke a handshake on giving them first refusal on Fryatt when Villa came in. The recent signing of James Constable does seem to add credence to this but Leitao leaving has complicated the issue.
Other rumours from the same source seem to have Darren Byfield ready to rejoin Walsall & also junior Agogo on his way in as well, but the same source says that the man behind the takeover at Villa is an ex-IRA kingpin


Walsall for me as with that home rfecord I think its a good price