Latics chief John Sheridan will be targeting a third League win in a row when Walsall come to Boundary Park this evening (KO 7.45pm).

Athletic erased memories of the recent FA Cup exit with an away win at Southend to pair up with the victory over Northampton the previous week.

Now Sheridan has called on his side to transfer their away record back to home turf as they bid for a sixth home League win of the season against a useful Walsall side.

Their last game at Boundary Park ended in a surprise 2-0 reverse at the hands of Yeovil - the first home League defeat of the season.

But home form has generally been good and Latics remain amongst the top three home scorers in the division with a tally of 19 strikes to their name so far, compared to seven goals conceded.

Striker Lee Hughes (pictured) will be hoping to continue his run of good form which saw him set up the winner at Northampton before winning the game with a well-placed volley at Southend last Saturday.

The marker moved Hughes on to seven goals for the season, one behind top scorer Chris Taylor, who scored Athletic's equaliser at Roots Hall.

Midfielder Danny Whitaker has weighed in with a valuable tally of five goals from the middle of the park, and he could be in the shake-up tonight after handing boss Sheridan an injury boost.

Whitaker has missed the last three games with an ankle injury sustained in training, but the ex-Port Vale man has responded well to treatment and trained successfully at Chapel Road yesterday.

Walsall - now under the stewardship of Jimmy Mullen after Richard Money's departure - travel north in good heart after a solid start to the season.

They currently lie tenth in League One with a game in hand, boasting a total haul of 24 points from 16 games.

Away form has been mixed, with a record of three wins, three draws and two defeats from eight games.  The Saddlers have scored ten goals and conceded nine on the road.

But the push up the table suffered a blow on Saturday as high-flying MK Dons visited the Banks's Stadium and came away with a 3-0 win courtesy of goals from Jemal Johnson, Ali Gerba and Mark Wright.

However, a promising away win (2-0 v Colchester) came before the Dons defeat underlining Walsall's up-and-down recent form, which reads two wins, two draws and four defeats since the start of October.

Ex-Latics striker Michael Ricketts leads the way in the goalscoring charts with eight strikes and is likely to provide the chief goalscoring threat.  He scored and hit the post in the Saddlers' 2-0 win at Boundary Park last season.

In the Latics camp, the fit-again Whitaker will battle for a place in central midfield with Kevin Maher and Mark Allott while Sean Gregan looks set to replace the suspended Reuben Hazell at the back.

Elsewhere strike partners Hughes and Darren Byfield should again start up front, leaving Lewis Alessandra, Chris O'Grady and Matty Wolfenden to battle for a place on the bench.

Walsall may be without keeper Clayton Ince after he limped off with a knee problem during the MK Dons defeat.  Backup Rene Gilmartin is on standby for a senior start.

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Latics (probable): Crossley, Eardley, Stam, Whitaker, Allott, Hughes, O'Grady, Lomax, Fleming, Hazell, Maher, Gregan, Wolfenden, Taylor, Lee, Stephens, Liddell, Byfield, Alessandra.