Walsall v Northampton Betting Tips: Hosts to come on top in high-scoring affair

This League One match is between two midtable teams heading in different directions as Walsall host Northampton Town at Bescot Stadium.

Walsall managed to salvage a draw (as I predicted!) against FA Cup giant-killers slayers Millwall on Wednesday night to stretch their unbeaten run to four matches in the league which means they are now just six points off the play-off places.

As mentioned in Wednesday’s write-up, the back-line has been the problem for the Saddlers this season with 38 goals conceded in just 29 matches. The fact they kept a clean sheet, their first in four matches, and did not even concede a shot on target against Millwall, will be very pleasing for manager Jon Whitney.

However, given the fact they have scored a decent number of goals this year (36 in 29), Walsall will be disappointed that they could not find the back of the net in that match.

After a run of seven games without a win at home in all competitions, stretching from early November to early January, the Saddlers have suddenly improved to record two victories in their last two matches at Bescot Stadium. Additionally, with these two wins coming against title challengers Sheffield United and play-off chasing Bristol Rovers, it makes for even more impressive reading.

Despite these recent results at Bescot, it is still worth noting that Walsall have kept just two clean sheets in 14 home games so far this campaign.

After storming to the League Two title last season, plus making a relatively good start to their League One campaign, Northampton’s form has dropped off dramatically with five losses in their last six matches. However, their most recent match saw them record a win against bottom-of-the-table Coventry City and so confidence should be boosted heading into this game.

The Cobblers’ defence has been absolutely shambolic this season so it is no surprise that Justin Edinburgh’s side have the third worst defensive record in the league with an incredible 48 goals conceded in just 29 matches. This is already more than they conceded in the entirety of last season (46) whilst they have kept just six clean sheets in the league all season.

Northampton’s attack has actually been pretty good in comparison to their abysmal defence having found the back of the net 42 times already this season whilst they have also got themselves on the score-sheet in four of the last five matches.

Justin Edinburgh’s team have lost seven away matches in the league this season with three of those defeats coming in their last three games away from Sixfields with an overall aggregate score of 11-3. Furthermore, they have kept just two clean sheets in  their 15 matches on the road.

Goals could easily be on the cards here given the poor defensive records of both, but it’s certainly fair to say that Walsall are the stronger side and should come out on top eventually. The aforementioned clean sheet statistics say a lot about the type of game we should witness here. At 7/2, ‘Walsall to Win & Both Teams to Score’ looks a very good bet.

A safer bet, but one that also very much catches the eye also think is excellent value, is ‘Walsall to Win and Over 1.5 Goals Total’ at 19/10. Against a very poor Northampton back-line, Jon Whitney’s men should be more than capable of causing real problems and can score at least twice when taking all three points here.

See more League One tips here.