Fleetwood Town are back in action this weekend as they take to the pitch after a week off as they host Oldham Athletic at Highbury stadium on Saturday (3pm).
Fleetwood Town are back in action this weekend as they take to the pitch after a week off as they host Oldham Athletic at Highbury stadium on Saturday (3pm).
While the Cod Army were on their week off, due to their match against Blackburn Rovers being postponed because of international call ups, Oldham were involved in an exciting match at home against Charlton Athletic.
It was a seven-goal thriller at Boundary Park which saw the Addicks win 4-3, even though Oldham drew the game level twice during the contest.
Still looking for points
Oldham have endured a tough start to the season and are yet to get off the mark in Sky Bet League One this season after five games.
Their campaign began with a 2-0 defeat to Oxford United, before being narrowly defeated 3-2 by Burton Albion in the Carabao Cup. The Latics were cruelly denied their first point of the season at Walsall a week later as Erhun Oztumer scored a stoppage time winner. Losses to Wigan, Blackpool and Charlton have followed in what has been a difficult opening month for the Greater Manchester outfit.
Facing their old club
There could be two players on the pitch on Saturday who could face their former sides. Town midfielder Aiden O’Neill featured 15 times for the Latics earlier this year, whilst on loan from Burnley.
The Cod Army will be familiar with striker Aaron Amadi-Holloway, who signed for Town in May 2016. He scored his first goal for the club early on in the first round of the EFL Cup defeat to Leeds United last summer. The Welshman now plays at Boundary Park having previously spent time there on loan before his spell with Fleetwood.
We’ve met before
Fleetwood and Oldham have met seven times in all competitions, and it is the Latics who have the superior record, winning five of those contests to Fleetwood’s one.
It was on New Year’s Eve last year when Fleetwood came out on top, thanks to a last minute own goal from Josh Law.
The return fixture at Oldham also featured an own goal as Nathan Pond turned the ball into his own net, with Lee Erwin making it 2-0 to the hosts.
Ones To Watch
Striker Eoin Doyle is a natural goal scorer and could pose a threat to Uwe Rosler’s side on Saturday. Doyle scored his first Oldham goal, since joining from Preston North End on loan, last weekend in the 4-3 deafeat to Charlton and has a good record in the Football Legaue, notably at Chesterfield where he scored 35 times in 69 appearances for the Spireites two years ago.
Brother of former Fleetwood defender Conor McLaughlin, Ryan McLaughlin is a player much like his older sibling and often presses forward down the wind during attacks. Having started his career with Glenavon in his native Northern Ireland and progressed through the ranks at Liverpool, McLaughlin featured for Barnsley and Aberdeen before signing permanently for Oldham in 2016.
A product of the impressive Manchester City academy, Jack Byrne is an exciting midfielder hailing from Dublin. After a season in the Netherlands on loan at SC Cambuur, and then Blackburn Rovers, Byrne was picked up by Wigan Athletic, signing for the Lancashire side in January 2017. Byrne made his Oldham debut in their Checkatrade Trophy defeat to Port Vale and scored his first goal three days late against Charlton.