Tranmere v Walsall preview
Last Updated: November 19, 2012 5:43pm
Ashley Taylor: Should be fit for Tranmere
Team news ahead of Tuesday night's League One clash between Tranmere Rovers and Walsall at Prenton Park.
Tranmere centre-backs Ash Taylor and Ben Gibson are expected to be fit, despite missing training on Monday.
The defensive pair played the full 90 minutes of Friday's 1-0 home defeat to MK Dons, and should keep their places, after being given time to recuperate.
Birmingham loanee Jake Jervis is unavailable to manager Ronnie Moore after the striker returned to his parent club following a one-month loan spell disrupted by an ankle problem.
Paul Black has returned to training following a calf injury, but the game against the Saddlers comes too soon for his first-team comeback.
Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro will definitely miss the clash after he was ruled out for a further two months with a broken metatarsal.
Teenage trio Cole Stockton, Jake Kirby, and Max Power are waiting in the wings should Moore elect to freshen up his starting line-up following the defeat to Karl Robinson's men.
Ashley Hemmings will keep his place in the Walsall team.
Winger Hemmings returned to the Saddlers' starting line-up and grabbed his first league goal of the season in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Crawley Town.
Striker Will Grigg is again expected to spearhead the Walsall attack and the on-loan Sam Mantom will be handed a midfield role, but there is an injury doubt over defender Ben Purkiss. He is having treatment on a hamstring problem and the clash with Ronnie Moore's Rovers may come too soon for him.
On-loan Stoke midfielder Florent Cuvelier could come into contention after his own hamstring injury was not as serious as first feared.
Matches
-
npower League 1
Table
npower League 1
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Doncaster Rovers | 46 | 84 |
| 2 | Bournemouth | 46 | 83 |
| 3 | Brentford | 46 | 79 |
| 4 | Yeovil Town | 46 | 77 |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 46 | 75 |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 46 | 74 |
| 7 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 71 |
| 8 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 70 |
| 9 | Walsall | 46 | 68 |
| 10 | Crawley Town | 46 | 68 |
| 11 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 67 |
| 12 | Notts County | 46 | 65 |
| 13 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 64 |
| 14 | Preston North End | 46 | 59 |
| 15 | Coventry City | 46 | 55 |
| 16 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 55 |
| 17 | Carlisle United | 46 | 55 |
| 18 | Stevenage | 46 | 54 |
| 19 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 51 |
| 20 | Colchester United | 46 | 51 |
| 21 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 48 |
| 22 | Bury | 46 | 41 |
| 23 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 41 |
| 24 | Portsmouth | 46 | 32 |
