Walsall welcome Port Vale to Bescot Stadium on Saturday morning in a League Two regular season fixture that finds the two clubs at markedly different ends of the table after six matches each.
Walsall sit fifth, unbeaten through their opening six matches with two wins and four draws, accumulating ten points. They are in the top third of the 24-team table. Port Vale, by contrast, occupy 22nd place in the bottom third, with one win, two draws and three defeats returning five points from six outings.
The points gap between the sides stands at five.
Walsall arrive on the back of three consecutive draws, their most recent being a goalless result at home to Rochdale. In their last five matches they have taken seven points, a run that also includes a goalless draw at Exeter City, a 2-2 draw at Crewe, a 3-2 home win over Accrington Stanley and a goalless draw at home to Grimsby.
Port Vale head into the match having taken five points from their last five matches. Their most recent result was a 1-0 home win over Exeter City, though that followed back-to-back defeats — a 1-0 loss at Salford City and a 3-1 defeat at Swindon Town. Earlier in that run they drew 0-0 with Crewe and 1-1 with Tranmere.
On the goals front, Walsall have scored eight and conceded four across their six League Two matches, while Port Vale have scored three and conceded seven. Walsall's unbeaten record remains the standout feature of their start to the season, whereas Port Vale's defensive record and table position underline the challenge facing them at Bescot Stadium.
Kick-off is at 11:30 UTC.