Walsall open their pre-season schedule on Tuesday evening against Aston Villa at the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium, with Lee Grant’s side desperate to turn around a dismal 2025-26 campaign. League standing: 13th in League Two, 65 pts, 18W-11D-17L from 46 games, recent form LLWLL. The Saddlers’ 12-point lead at the League Two summit vanished last season, culminating in a playoff final loss and an eight-match winless run that cost Mat Sadler his job in March.

What’s at stake for Walsall?

Villa arrive after lifting the Europa League and finishing fourth in the Premier League, but their depleted squad faces a tough test against Walsall. Grant, appointed in May, inherits a side that accrued just 22 points in the second half of last season, with only 1W-0D-4L in their last five games. Last result: Bromley 3-1 Walsall (2026-05-02). The Midlands club’s rebuild includes 12 released players and a new-look attack, with Grant tasked with ending their eight-year stay in England’s fourth tier.

Villa’s pre-season juggernaut

Unai Emery’s side return from World Cup duties to face Walsall before jet-setting to Porto, Real Sociedad, and Asia. Key absentees include Youri Tielemans (now at Manchester United), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea-bound), and ACL victim Amadou Onana. Tyrone Mings, Matty Cash, Leon Bailey, and Emi Buendia are back in training, while Boubacar Kamara edges closer to fitness after a truncated 2025-26 season.

Team news: Grant’s rebuild begins

Walsall’s pre-season opener against Leamington ended 0-0, a sluggish start for a side still reeling from last term’s collapse. Grant’s summer overhaul saw 12 players exit, with the new boss banking on a fresh approach to reverse their Goals this season: 56 scored, 56 conceded (0 goal difference). The Saddlers sit 22 points behind Bromley in the title race, and their recent form-LLLLW-leaves little room for optimism ahead of Tuesday’s clash.

What comes next for both sides?

Villa’s itinerary includes friendlies against Porto, Real Sociedad, and Bayern Munich before the UEFA Super Cup against PSG. Walsall, meanwhile, face Bristol City in the EFL Cup before opening their League Two campaign at Gillingham. For Grant, the priority is simple: halt the slide and restore pride at a club mired in mid-table mediocrity.