'It will be difficult' - Shrewsbury Town face tough test at League Two leaders Walsall
There is no denying the threat posed by League Two leaders Walsall - and Michael Appleton is well aware of the huge task facing Shrewsbury Town.
As the Shrewsbury boss admits, wins on the road have been rare this season, with just one league victory away from home, alongside two away FA Cup wins, most recently at Sutton United last weekend.
However, Shrewsbury go into Saturday’s clash in good spirits after grinding out a draw with Grimsby Town to secure another point in their recent revival, leaving them two points clear of the drop zone.
A win against Walsall would be another morale booster for Salop, and could potentially see them move further away from the danger zone.
Walsall have stormed to the top of the table, as they did last season, and will be looking to secure a fourth league win in a row. They boast one of the tightest defences in League Two, having conceded just 18 goals, and face a Shrewsbury side who are among the lowest scorers.
Yet Shrewsbury recently showed their scoring ability when they netted three against early play-off contenders Gillingham, and with forwards John Marquis and George Lloyd both on the scoresheet in recent games, Salop have some momentum.
Town were without suspended Josh Ruffels and Will Boyle against Grimsby midweek, alongside Tom Sang, who missed out with a sore Achilles, and Ismeal Kabia who struggled with illness. Appleton will be hoping all are fit for the Walsall clash.
Asked about availability, he said: "Well, we've got two back straight away. Obviously, we've got Will Boyle and Josh Ruffles. Potentially Tom Sang, we'll see how he develops. But those two especially will be available and come straight into the squad.
"Listen, we're playing the side at the top of the league and they've done ever so well this year. They're a real threat. They've got a lot of attacking intent in terms of the two strikers that they have most weeks.
"It's going to be a good game, a difficult game. Points on the road have been hard to find at times this season.
"I thought we showed a lot of resilience to come back the way we did in the cup tie on Saturday. So hopefully we can have that type of resilience and get a result."
Forward Daniel Kanu has helped fire Walsall to the top of the table and poses a huge threat. He moved on to double figures for the season in all competitions as he gave the Saddlers a narrow midweek victory at Oldham Athletic.
Shrewsbury were forced to defend well in the final half-hour against Grimsby, something boss Appleton was pleased with.
He added: "We probably could have done a little bit better in terms of putting crosses into the box in the first-half when we had the wind behind us, so we knew that it was going to come at some point.
"I thought we could have dealt with the first ball better, the ball into the strikers. We could have been a little bit more dominant in the way we dealt with that and we didn't, and we allowed them to jump on second balls.
"So, I am a little bit disappointed with that, but in terms of balls into the box and the way we had to defend maybe one or two deep free kicks and corners, the players did ever so well."
