Pre-Match Thread Walsall (H)

Blues kick off their series of cup fixtures tomorrow at home against Walsall. At this stage last season, Blues bowed out after being beaten 1-0 by Yeovil Town, while The Saddlers beat Port Vale 2-1 at Vale Park in the first round, going on to play Stoke City at The Britannia Stadium, where they lost 3-1.

This competition holds good memories for Blues fans. In the 2006-07 season, we beat AFC Bournemouth (A), Brighton (H) & Leeds (A) before playing host to Manchester United, who we dumped out, winning 1-0, in the match that obviously sticks in the minds of us all to this day. We eventually exited the competition at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, who we took to extra time, in which Jermain Defoe scored a clear offside goal to put them through. More recently, we have been knocked out at the first round stage for the past three seasons. As previously mentioned, Yeovil Town knocked us out last season. The year before that we were comprehensively beaten 4-0 by Peterborough United at London Road, and the year before that, we lost at home to Leyton Orient on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Walsall on the other hand have previously reached the Semi-Finals of the Capital One Cup, (or the Associate Members Cup as it was in 1983-84). They got past Blackpool (4-3 on aggregate) & Barnsley (3-0 on aggregate), before they edged out 2-1 winners against Shrewsbury Town at Fellows Park, Walsall's home until 1990. Then came the giant-killing. The Saddlers played Arsenal at Highbury in the Quarter Finals, ending up as 2-1 victors. Liverpool were their Semi-Final opponents, and it is here where they bowed out, losing 2-0 at Fellows Park after holding The Reds to a 2-2 draw at Anfield.