Notts County vs Walsall preview: Magpies look to stop table topping Saddlers in their tracks

League leaders Walsall boast a 12-point lead over County who have climbed into second spot with a run of three league wins on the spin over the Christmas period. 

The Magpies have found the net 10 times across those three victories with five of those strikes coming in their thrilling 5-3 triumph at former Walsall boss Michael Flynn's Cheltenham Town last time out. 

Only Walsall (41) and Chesterfield (37) have scored more than County's tally of 35 in League Two although only Grimsby Town (seven) have kept fewer clean sheets than them (eight) among the current top seven.

Alassana Jatta has hit the goal scoring trail for County this term with 11 goals in 17 matches in League Two including four in his last three. The Gambian frontman is still two goals shy of Walsall teenager Nathan Lowe (13) who leads the race for the golden boot following his brace against Newport County.

37-year-old David McGoldrick has also chipped in with eight league goals, while Dan Crowley has been the creator in chief for County with six assists. 

And County could be set to grow stronger with Conor Grant returning from a three-month layoff as a first half substitute at Cheltenham. 

Last season's League Two player of the season Jodi Jones was also named in the match day squad for the first time since suffering a fractured shin in September. 

Jones registered five goals and 23 assists in 43 league appearances for County last term and found the net four times in six matches in the current campaign prior to his injury. 

Curtis Edwards has also been out since early-September after requiring surgery on an unspecified problem.