Newport County and Walsall square off in the FA Cup first round on Saturday afternoon.

These two teams play in the fourth tier of English football, sitting in 14th and third position in the League Two table respectively.

Match preview

Having signed a long-term contract with Walsall, Lee Grant will get time to secure promotion to League One.

However, the Saddlers entered November having lost just one of 13 games in League Two, that defeat coming by a 4-2 scoreline to runaway leaders Salford City.

Walsall have conceded just eight goals in their other 12 league games, while they bounced back from the Salford disappointment by beating Colchester United last time out.

Sitting in third place with a game in hand on the teams below them, Grant will be delighted with the progression of his team.

Only once in eight years - the 2020-21 coronavirus-hit campaign - have Walsall failed to reach the second round of the FA Cup.

Just as impressively, Newport have only not progressed to the second round of the competition on two occasions in 11 years.

After consecutive near-misses with relegation to the National League, Newport have 18 points from their opening 14 games in 2026-27.

Hayden Mullins has brought some much-needed stability to the club, losing just four times across the aforementioned period.

Although Walsall are yet to suffer a league away defeat, Newport have not lost in seven League Two fixtures at Rodney Parade.

This tie was drawn out in the first round of the 2016-17 FA Cup, Newport prevailing by a 2-1 scoreline on that occasion.

Newport County form (all competitions):

Walsall form (all competitions):

Team News

Having been able to make changes in the EFL Trophy in midweek, Mullins may stick with a similar Newport XI from the 4-1 win over Chesterfield last weekend.

Harrison Biggins played a key role with a goal and an assist, taking him to seven such contributions in League Two during 2026-27.

Shaquille Gwengwe is available again after serving a three-match ban for an incident in the fixture with York City on October 17.

Ryan Leak, James Furlong, Sven Sprangler, Courtney Clarke and Andy Dallas could all return to the Walsall XI, with Grant likely to want to freshen up his team.

Declan Skura, Mason Hancock, Isaac Moore, Reece Smith and Aaron Pressley - five players who have accumulated a lot of game time in League Two - could drop down to the substitutes' bench.

Newport County possible starting lineup:

Wright; Norman, Jenkins, Cameron, Davies; Brennan, Smith; Adu-Poku; Biggins, Bamba; Etete

Walsall possible starting lineup:

Ward; Ahui, Leak, Connolly, Furlong; Crew, Sprangler; Simper, Sodje, Clarke; Dallas

We say: Newport County 1-2 Walsall

With team lineups for this contest potentially different from in the league, this could prove to be an evenly-matched contest. However, we cannot ignore that Walsall have only lost to Salford in League Two this season, leading us to back an away victory by a narrow margin.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.