Latics will look to continue their rich vein of form when they welcome Tranmere Rovers to Boundary Park tonight (7pm KO).
Harry Kewell’s men have won six of their last seven games in all competitions which has seen them move to 17th in the table and secure a place in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup, where they will face Sky Bet Championship side AFC Bournemouth in the New Year.
In all of the previous three games, Oldham have come from a goal behind to ensure victory, with the latest success being at Valley Parade featuring wondergoals from Conor McAleny and Danny Rowe.
Interesting Info
- The Tuesday effect. Since 2010, we have won 32% of home matches. But we’ve won 47% of home matches on a Tuesday since 2010. That’s a big effect. Will it continue?
- Tranmere are our 3rd most common opponent - we’ve played them 88 times. Notts County is our second most on 93, so Tranmere may overtake soon.
- We’re not quite so important for Tranmere - they’ve faced Crewe, Hartlepool, Rochdale, Stockport, Halifax, Wrexham, Chesterfield, Port Vale and Southport more often than they’ve faced us. So we’re their 10th most common opponent.
- On this day: Dec 1, famous games were the 6-1 win over Brighton in 1990, and a win over Blackburn in 1989. Overall it’s an ok day for us: P17 W7 D2 L8, but most of those losses were pre-1990.
Form Guide
Similarly to Latics, Tranmere are also enjoying a fine run of form and have also won six of their last seven in all competitions, with four on the bounce.
After a somewhat shaky start for Rovers, they now find themselves 10th in the League Two table, just two points off a place in the play-offs.
Impressively, Tranmere have won each of their last three games without conceding a goal.
The Whites’ last six:
- Tranmere Rovers 1-0 Brackley Town (FA Cup)
- Tranmere Rovers 1-0 Carlisle United
- Tranmere Rovers 5-0 Grimsby Town
- Port Vale 3-4 Tranmere Rovers
- Tranmere Rovers 2-2 Wigan Athletic (TRFC won on pens – EFL Trophy)
- Tranmere Rovers 2-1 Accrington Stanley (FA Cup)
Head-to-Head
Meetings: 88
Latics wins: 35
Tranmere wins: 32
Draws: 21
For - 123
Against - 124
Other key statistics include:
- Tranmere beat Latics 13-4 the day after we beat them 4-1 in 1935.
- No team has scored more than two goals in this fixture since March 2008.
- Since Boxing Day 1995, each team has only once scored more than two goals in this fixture (Tranmere 4-0 Oldham 2005, Oldham 3-1 Tranmere 2008).
The last time Latics faced Tranmere was at Boundary Park in April 2019.
A goal in either half from Callum Lang saw Oldham see off a Tranmere side that had won each of their last seven games.
Rovers’ first defeat in 10 games saw them miss out on going up to 4th in the table, whilst Oldham moved into the top half of the league.
Latcis have lost none of the last encounters with Tranmere with the previous ones both ending in score draws.
Team News
In terms of selection, Head Coach Harry Kewell has some players returning whilst others are still sidelined.
Dylan Fage and Bobby Grant are available for selection after getting a knock and missing the game at the weekend respectively.
Zak Dearnley is still getting to full fitness. Dylan Bahamboula and George Blackwood may also miss out again tonight with their injuries but are short-term absentees.
Whilst Andrea Badan remains on the treatment table and is at St. George's Park for the next stage of his treament, with defender Kyle Jameson also out for a month with the same hamstring injury.
Watch Out For
James Vaughan has netted seven times in just 11 League Two appearances this season.
Vaughan started at Everton and had an incredible start to his career, scoring on his debut at the age of just 16 and 271 days. This broke James Milner’s record for being the youngest scorer in the Premier League.
Unfortunately for the striker, injury issues would mean that he never hit the heights expected of him at Goodison Park and he was sent out on loan to Debry County, Leicester City and Crystal Palace on loan before eventually leaving Merseyside on a permanent deal in May 2011 as he signed for fellow Premier League side Norwich City.
Again, injury problems would frustrate Vaughan, but he found his goalscoring form whilst on loan at Huddersfield and the Terriers then moved to make his loan deal a permanent one.
His next club was Birmingham City and from there he went to Bury before having subsequent spells with Sunderland, Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth and Bradford City.
The 32 year-old initially joined Rovers in January 2020 on loan from the Bantams and scored three goals in eight games before the season was cut short.
He joined on a permanent basis this summer and has continued his impressive start to life at Prenton Park.
Familiar Faces
Former Latics captain Peter Clarke is currently plying his trade at Prenton Park.
Clarke joined Rovers in January 2020 from Fleetwood Town and then activated a one-year extension in his contract with the club.
The 38 year-old defender began his career with Everton and also played for Blackpool, Port Vale, Coventry City, Southend United, Huddersfield Town and Bury before joining Latics in 2016.
During his time at Boundary Park, Clarke made 124 appearances, scoring 15 times. In addition, he won the club’s player of the season award on two occasions whilst with Latics, becoming a fans favourite in the process.
Another link between the two sides is Cameron Borthwick-Jackson.
The current Latics defender had a brief loan spell with Tranmere Rovers in the first part of the 2019-20 season, before he joined Oldham on loan for the second-half of the campaign.
The 23 year-old played just six times for the Merseyside club.
In The Dugout
Keith Hill is the man in the dugout for the visitors.
The 51 year-old has been in charge of Rovers since the 21st November of this year and he boasts a 100%-win rate thus far.
Hill has also managed local rivals Rochdale, Barnsley and Bolton Wanderers and as a player he represented; Blackburn Rovers, Plymouth, Argyle, Rochdale, Cheltenham Town, Wrexham and Morecambe.
Match Officials
Referee - Alan Young
Assistant Referees - Stephen Wade & Barry Gordon
Fourth Official - Peter Gooch
This season, the man in the middle has officiated 13 games so far handing out 50 yellow cards and a single red.
Taking charge of a mixture of League One and Two games this will be his first involving Latics and/or Tranmere.
Sky Bet Odds
Latics are 8/5 to take maximum points from the game whilst Tranmere are 6/4.
12/5 is the price offered for the draw.
In each of Oldham’s five league wins, both teams have got on the score sheet and Sky Bet are offering boosted odds of 9/2 for the same to happen this time out.
Please gamble responsibly by clicking here. For more information visit: www.begambleaware.org
How To Follow The Game
Because the game is classed as behind-closed-doors, supporters can tune into a live match stream with commentary available for all subscribers on iFollow Latics, as Roy Butterworth and Mike Leyland talk you through the action.
This match is available as a live stream for the fee of £10.
Alternatively, supporters can also follow the game with live updates on the club's official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.
Oldham Athletic would like to make it clear that all fixtures are still strictly-behind-closed doors with spectators not being allowed entry.
Extensive guidelines are in place for the safety of officials and players whilst the events are taking place.
It is important you do not travel or attempt to visit Boundary Park on the day, especially with the new local restrictions in place.
Live commentary of this match has not yet started.
key moments
Updated at
There are currently no key moments to display.