The Iron could climb to 10th in the League Two table should results go their way, if they defeat Walsall at the Sands Venue Stadium on Boxing Day (3pm kick-off).
SCENE-SETTER
Scunthorpe head into the match unbeaten in the league since October 19th and bouyed by the 1-0 win at near neighbours Grimsby Town on Saturday, which was secured by Kevin van Veen's 62nd minute winner.
They're unbeaten in ten matches in all competitions at the Sands Venue Stadium and will be seeking to go one better than the last home game, which saw us draw 2-2 at home to Colchester United.
Walsall are unbeaten in the league since the start of November and drew 3-3 at high-flying Exeter City on Saturday, where they had raced into a 3-0 lead. They sit 16th heading into the match.
TEAM NEWS
Matthew Lund returns from a three-match suspension ahead of the clash with the Saddlers.
Jordan Clarke misses out through a quad injury, which manager Paul Hurst says could keep him out for two weeks, but the Iron will be checking on the fitness of Abo Eisa (groin) and Andy Dales (dead leg), who both missed the game at Grimsby along with Clarke.
Yann Songo'o (knee) and Junior Brown (quad) came off injured during the win at Blundell Park. Songo'o will definitely miss Boxing Day, while Brown will be assessed.
Regan Slater (ankle) will be out for around two further months following an operation on Monday.
PAST MEETINGS
United lost 1-0 away to the Saddlers earlier in the season.
Our last win against them came at the Banks's Stadium last January, with Funso Ojo and Lee Novak sealing a fourth win in succession for Stuart McCall's team.
| SEASON - DATE | COMPETITION | RESULT | IRON SCORERS |
| 2019-20 - Sat 21 Sep | LG 1 | Walsall 1-0 Iron | |
| 2018-19 - Sat 12 Jan | LG 1 | Walsall 1-2 Iron | Ojo, Novak |
| 2018-19 - Sat 11 Aug | LG 1 | Iron 1-1 Walsall | Novak |
| 2017-18 - Sat 21 Apr | LG 1 | Iron 1-0 Walsall | Yates |
| 2017-18 - Sat 9 Dec | LG 1 | Walsall 1-0 Iron | |
| 2016-17 - Tue 14 Feb | LG 1 | Iron 0-0 Walsall | |
| 2016-17 - Tue 27 Sep | LG 1 | Walsall 1-4 Iron | Morris 3, Bishop |
| 2015-16 - Tue 1 Mar | LG 1 | Walsall 0-0 Iron | |
| 2015-16 - Tue 29 Sep | LG 1 | Iron 0-1 Walsall | |
| 2014-15 - Sat 10 Jan | LG 1 | Walsall 1-4 Iron | Chambers (og), Hopper, Madden, Bishop |
| 2014-15 - Sat 30 Aug | LG 1 | Iron 2-1 Walsall | Adelakun, McSheffrey |
| 2012-13 - Sat 14 Apr | LG 1 | Iron 1-1 Walsall | Canavan |
| 2012-13 - Tue 6 Nov | LG 1 | Walsall 1-4 Iron | Canavan 2, Duffy, Clarke |
| 2011-12 - Tue 21 Feb | LG 1 | Iron 0-1 Walsall | |
| 2011-12 - Sat 17 Sep | LG 1 | Walsall 2-2 Iron | Thompson, Ryan |
| 2008-09 - Tue 3 Mar | LG 1 | Iron 1-1 Walsall | Odejayi |
| 2008-09 - Sat 8 Nov | LG 1 | Walsall 1-3 Iron | Hooper 2, Hurst |
| 2008-09 - Sat 16 Aug | LG 1 | Walsall 2-1 Iron | Thompson |
| 2005-06 - Sat 11 Feb | LG 1 | Walsall 2-2 Iron | Keogh, MacKenzie |
| 2005-06 - Sat 24 Sep | LG 1 | Iron 1-3 Walsall | Sharp |
| 1994-95 - Sat 29 Apr | DIV 3 | Walsall 2-1 Iron | Gregory |
| 1994-95 - Sat 10 Nov | DIV 3 | Iron 0-1 Walsall | |
| 1993-94 - Mon 3 Jan | DIV 3 | Iron 5-0 Walsall | Martin, Smith, Bullimore, Carmichael, Henderson |
| 1993-94 - Tue 14 Dec | FAC R2 R | Iron 0-0 Walsall (Iron win 7-6 on pens) |
|
| 1993-94 - Sat 4 Dec | FAC R2 | Walsall 1-1 Iron | Carmichael |
| 1993-94 - Tue 31 Aug | DIV 3 | Walsall 0-0 Iron | |
| 1992-93 - Sat 20 Feb | DIV 3 | Walsall 3-2 Iron | Stevenson, Helliwell |
| 1992-93 - Tue 1 Sep | DIV 3 | Iron 2-0 Walsall | Elliott, Helliwell |
| 1991-92 - Sat 7 Mar | DIV 4 | Walsall 2-1 Iron | Buckley |
| 1991-92 - Sat 25 Jan | DIV 4 | Iron 1-1 Walsall | White |
| 1990-91 - Tue 12 Mar | DIV 4 | Iron 1-0 Walsall | Daws |
| 1990-91 - Tue 2 Oct | DIV 4 | Walsall 3-0 Iron | |
| 1983-84 - Tue 6 Mar | DIV 3 | Walsall 1-1 Iron | Bell |
| 1983-84 - Sat 5 Nov | DIV 3 | Iron 0-0 Walsall | |
| 1979-80 - Sat 15 Mar | DIV 4 | Walsall 1-1 Iron | Partridge |
| 1979-80 - Sat 6 Oct | DIV 4 | Iron 2-2 Walsall | Green, O'Berg |
| 1972-73 - Sat 28 Apr | DIV 3 | Walsall 1-1 Iron | Collier |
| 1972-73 - Tue 29 Aug | DIV 3 | Iron 2-1 Walsall | Fletcher, Kirk |
| 1967-68 - Sat 24 Feb | DIV 3 | Walsall 0-0 Iron | |
| 1967-68 - Sat 7 Oct | DIV 3 | Iron 2-5 Walsall | Barton 2 |
| 1966-67 - Fri 24 Feb | DIV 3 | Walsall 0-0 Iron | |
| 1966-67 - Sat 8 Oct | DIV 3 | Walsall 2-0 Iron | |
| 1965-66 - Sat 21 May | DIV 3 | Iron 4-2 Walsall | Sloan 2, Thomas, Bedford |
| 1965-66 - Sat 8 Jan | DIV 3 | Walsall 3-0 Iron | |
| 1964-65 - Tue 20 Oct | DIV 3 | Walsall 1-2 Iron | Scott, Lawther |
| 1964-65 - Tue 13 Oct | DIV 3 | Iron 4-0 Walsall | Lawther 2, Scott, Hutton |
| 1962-63 - Sat 20 Apr | DIV 2 | Walsall 1-1 Iron | Wilson |
| 1962-63 - Fri 30 Nov | DIV 2 | Iron 2-0 Walsall | Brownsword, McPherson (og) |
| 1961-62 - Sat 28 Apr | DIV 2 | Walsall 4-1 Iron | McGuigan |
| 1961-62 - Tue 6 Mar | DIV 2 | Iron 2-1 Walsall | McGuigan, Hodgson |
Our full record against Walsall is as follows:
| P | W | D | L | F | A | |
| Home | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 36 | 22 |
| Away | 25 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 34 | 37 |
| TOTAL | 49 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 70 | 59 |
ELSEWHERE IN LEAGUE TWO
Carlisle United v Bradford City
Cheltenham Town v Plymouth Argyle
Crawley Town v Northampton Town
Exeter City v Newport County
Leyton Orient v Colchester United
Macclesfield Town v Grimsby Town
Mansfield Town v Port Vale
Morecambe v Oldham Athletic
Salford City v Crewe Alexandra
Stevenage v Forest Green Rovers
Swindon Town v Cambridge United