Walsall will be bolstered by the return of two experienced players as they bid to put their LDV Vans Trophy penalty shoot-out heartbreak behind them with an FA Cup upset this weekend.
Veteran defender Ian Roper and former Birmingham City midfielder Paul Devlin are expected to feature in the fourth round tie away to Stoke City, having been absent from Walsall's trip to Swansea, where they went out 6-5 on penalties after the LDV southern section semi-final had ended 2-2.
Roper, playing his tenth consecutive season at the Bescot, sustained a pulled hamstring in Walsall's FA Cup third round victory over Barnsley while Devlin suffered a calf strain on his debut against Chesterfield.
Walsall manager Paul Merson will be pleased at the return of the senior play-ers as he was forced to field a youthful, albeit heroic, side in midweek.
Merson's side will also be bolstered by the return of on-loan signings Kevin James (Nottingham Forest), Michael Leary (Luton) and Mads Timm (Manchester United), who were all ineligible for the Swansea game.
A club spokesman said that the Saddlers are feeling quietly confident of a shock at Championship side Stoke.
"This is a local game and if we can carry on the form we've shown in the last few games we could come away with a result," he said. "Stoke aren't in the best of form, so you never know."
The Saddlers estimate that around 2,000 supporters will make the journey on Saturday to the Britannia Stadium to cheer them on.
