fourth successive season in League Two is on the menu for Walsall, who have failed to stake their claim for a promotion push since dropping down from League One in 2019 and have started pre-season in disappointing fashion.
Michael Flynn remains in the hotseat after guiding the Saddlers to a 16th-placed finish in the second tier last term, but his side have been shut out in both of their opening pre-season friendlies so far this month.
Devante Cole struck the winner for Barnsley on July 1 before Scott Hogan’s 43rd-minute effort propelled Birmingham to a 1-0 win on Tuesday,
and the likes of Leamington, Telford United, Coventry City and Solihull Moors also lie in wait for Walsall before their domestic campaign begins.
A plethora of new signings and trialists have so far failed to steer Walsall to a confidence-boosting win in pre-season, and their hopes of making it third time lucky against Aston Villa seem rather slim indeed
The ever-ambitious owners of Aston Villa did not see their efforts reap the rewards they may have expected last term, as an influx of high-profile arrivals could only help the Lions achieve a 14th-placed finish in the top flight, and the powers-that-be have not hesitated to get the chequebook out again.
Diego Carlos and Boubacar Kamaracould be preparing for Champions League action with Sevilla and Marseille respectively right now, but the duo instead chose to test their skills in England, and a permanent move for Philippe Coutinhohas also been struck.
Villa XI will also take on Chasetown the day before Gerrard’s men lock horns with Walsall, and the Lions also have meetings with Leamington, Leeds United, Brisbane Roar, Manchester United and Rennes to look ahead to before opening their new Premier League campaign against Bournemouth.
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Not since the 1971-72 Third Division have Walsall and Aston Villa faced off competitively, with both meetings that season ending in stalemates, and the Saddlers have only won one of their previous six clashes with the Premier League outfit.
Not since the 1971-72 Third Division have Walsall and Aston Villa faced off competitively, with both meetings that season ending in stalemates, and the Saddlers have only won one of their previous six clashes with the Premier League outfit.
Splashing the cash on big names is one thing, but Gerrard must now prove that his new arrivals can gel and form an effective XI throughout a crucial campaign for Villa, whose fans may optimistically be thinking of a European charge.
