Latics will be looking to make it two wins in a week when Bradford City come to Boundary Park on Saturday (3pm KO).
Dino Maamria will also have his squad boosted by Chris McCann, who signed up to an improved contract following his impressive performances in his short-term deal with Latics.
Form Guide
Oldham’s win over Mansfield Town on Tuesday night was their first win of the year but on a more positive note it extended the club’s unbeaten run to five matches.
The Bantams are without a win since their 1-0 win over strugglers Morecambe on New Year's Day and have now gone six games without picking up maximum points.
The Bantams’ last six:
- Swindon Town 1-1 Bradford City
- Crawley Town 2-1 Bradford City
- Bradford City 2-2 Scunthorpe United
- Colchester United 0-0 Bradford City
- Mansfield Town 3-0 Bradford City
- Bradford City 1-1 Cheltenham Town
Head-to-Head
The two clubs have played each other 111 times; Oldham have won 44 of these games, Bradford 34 and there have been 33 times that the two sides could not be separated. When the two sides met earlier on this season it was Bradford who were victorious, winning 3-0.
The last time that Latics played City at Boundary Park is almost two years to the day of this fixture and Oldham secured a 2-1 victory.
Oldham Athletic 2-1 Bradford City – 3rd February 2018
Latics secured their first league win of the calendar year with a 2-1 victory over promotion hopefuls Bradford City.
The hosts had not won any of their previous nine league matches at Boundary Park but got off to a good start with full back Cameron Dummigan launched a spectacular 25-yard drive into the top corner of the Bradford goal. With less than five minutes of normal time left, Aaron Holloway headed in from a ball in from Ryan McLaughlin to double the advantage. However, this did not last long and the Bantams set up a nervy final few minutes with Jordan Gibson scoring for the visitors.
The result saw Bradford’s poor form continue and was their fifth consecutive defeat in Sky Bet League One and saw them drop to sixth, just two points ahead of Charlton Athletic who had two games in hand over the Bantams. The result was a big one for Latics, they remained inside the bottom four but now only goal difference separated them and 21st place Northampton Town.
League Story So Far
Despite a patchy start to life in League Two, Bradford City picked up to put themselves in the conversation for automatic promotion. They won two of their opening six matches including the win against Latics but following a defeat against Crewe Alexandra, the Bantams won seven of their next ten league games.
This was a start that had them right up there in the automatic promotion spots as they looked good to make a return to the third flight of English football. However, things have started to get trickier for the Bantams as of late and they have won just three of their 14 league matches since. This is a run of form that has seen them drop out of contention for the top three and move down to 7th in the league table. They are two points ahead of Cheltenham Town but would lose their playoff spot if the Robins where to win either of their games in hand.
Latics are 14 points behind Bradford but can climb the table further with a win.
What We Said
Dino Maamria: "We have been improving all the time, Bradford are a good team they have been in the play-offs all season for a reason.
"The challenge for us now is that we have not beaten anyone in the top six or seven and my challenge to the players is are we ready yet to go and post a big win against one of the top seven teams. I think the players are ready for that."
What They Said
Gary Bowyer: "I watched Oldham at close quarters in their game against Mansfield, on Tuesday.
"They have picked up on their form at home and will provide a big cahellenge.
"They are a good side with some good players who can hurt you, out of nothing."
Watch Out For
Clayton Donaldson is a striker that Latics defence will need to watch out for when the Bantams come to Boundary Park. Oldham fans may remember that Donaldson netted the second goal in Bradford’s 3-0 win over Oldham at Valley Parade.
The 35-year old started his career with Hull but would only make a handful of appearances for the Tigers. He had loan moves to Harrogate Town, Scarborough and Halifax Town before he eventually moved on a permanent basis to York City. Donaldson impressed during his time with The Minstermen with 2006/07 being his most fruitful campaign, scoring 24 league goals which made him the Conference’s third most lethal frontman in the division.
He then moved across the border where he signed for Scottish Premier League side Hibernian. Struggling to make a real impact at Easter Road, Donaldson departed for League One Crewe Alexandra in August 2008. In the 2010/11 season the striker impressed yet again and his 28 league goals made him the league’s top scorer.
Donaldson went from Crewe to Brentford and enjoyed a successful time at Griffin Park. He was named player of the year for Brentford for the 2012/13 season after an impressive 24 goals from 56 appearances which helped the Bees win promotion to the Championship. Donaldson left Brentford for championship rivals Birmingham City.
In his time at St Andrews, Donaldson picked up player’s player of the year along with the supporter’s accolade following the 2014/15 season in which he netted 16 times. Donaldson made a deadline day move to another Championship club in Sheffield United on the 31st August 2017. He was released after one season before moving to championship strugglers Bolton Wanderers where he was not kept on in the aftermath of their relegation making him a free agent.
He signed a one-year deal at Valley Parade in June 2019.
Familiar Face
Oldham born Bradford midfielder Chris Taylor played over 250 times for Latics between 2005 and 2012 and also returned for a brief loan spell in 2017.
Taylor made his debut for Oldham in a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the 05/06 season but it was the 06/07 season where he became a Boundary Park regular, making 51 appearances including a 1-1 draw against Carlisle United that featured Taylor’s first goal for his boyhood club.
He enjoyed a good time with Oldham and was often subject of speculation that clubs were keen to win his signature. He did leave the club on a free transfer and joined Milwall on the 30th of May 2012. After Milwall, Taylor signed for Blackburn Rovers and then went to Bolton Wanderers. It was when he was a Bolton player when he returned to Latics on a brief loan spell. He made 16 appearances at Oldham and moved on to Blackpool after the end of the season.
Taylor joined Bradford on the 11th of November 2019 after a short period at Barrow.
In The Dugout
In the away dugout will be Gary Bowyer.
In Bowyer’s playing career, he played for Hereford United and Rotherham United. In between these two clubs he was a Nottingham Forest player but he never made a senior Football League appearance for the club. Injury cut the full back’s career short.
The 48-year old’s first post in management was a caretaker position at Blackburn Rovers. He was caretaker at Ewood Park twice before he finally got the job on a full-time basis in 2013.
Following his time at Blackburn he went to Blackpool. He won promotion from League Two via the playoffs during his time at Bloomfield Road. Bowyer was appointed manager at Valley Parade in April 2019.
Match Officials
Ben Toner will be the man in charge as Latics host Bradford in the Sky Bet League Two fixture tomorrow afternoon (3pm KO).
The referee has officiated 23 games this season, brandishing 78 yellow cards as well as five reds.
His last Oldham game was back in October when he took charge of the Leasing.com Trophy tie at home to Accrington.
He will be assisted by Billy Smallwood and Stephen Wade with Richard Wigglesworth as the Fourth Official.
Sky Bet Odds
Oldham are slight favourites for the game and Sky Bet have the hosts priced at 6/4. The visitors are 7/4 whilst you can get odds of 11/5 for the draw.
Danny Rowe has excited the Latics fans since his arrival but is yet to get his first goal at Boundary Park; he is 5/1 to be the first goalscorer against the Bantams.
Ticket Information
Please note the North Stand is also closed for this fixture. An official update will be provided once it is back open.
If you are a season ticket or match ticket holder in the North Stand whilst this situation prevails, your tickets will be valid for the Main Stand and Rochdale Road End. To avoid inconvenience, you will not need to move your seat at the Ticket Office, you will gain access via the relevant turnstiles within these stands.
Travelling supporters will be able to gain admission at the turnstiles for tomorrow's encounter. Cashless entry will not be in operation to ease the queues at the Ticket Office.
Admission prices are available by clicking here, whilst a Visitors Guide can be found here.
How To Follow The Game
If you can't attend the fixture in person at Boundary Park, live commentary is available for all subscribers on iFollow Latics with Mike Leyland and Roy Butterworth who will be talking you through the match.
The iFollow video match pass is only available for overseas residents.
To subscribe for the fixture, click here.
Alternatively, supporters can also follow the game with live updates on the club's official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.
Live commentary of this match has not yet started.
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