Oldham Athletic are looking for three wins on the bounce as they make the long trip to Colchester United this weekend in the Sky Bet League Two fixture (3pm).
Latics come into the game after dispatching both Grimsby Town and Tranmere Rovers over the past week, but Head Coach Pete Wild isn’t getting too carried away.
“It won't be an easy task and the good thing is that we're playing teams in and around us, so it's a testing time for us which will show what we're made of.” He said.
“They've had a really good season, so we go there maybe as the underdogs, but we're confident and really keen to get a result to keep pushing the season along.
“It's usually a tight affair against Colchester, but we'll go there with a positive mindset and we're going there to win the game.”
A win for Latics would maintain Wild’s hopes of a top half finish, but they’ll have to do it without Zak Dearnley who has picked up a knock in recent weeks.
Dan Gardner is still out with a long-term injury and Jose Baxter serves the last of his three-game ban.
However, Latics are boosted with the return of Dapo Afolayan who has recovered from a shoulder injury he picked up against Lincoln City.
Our opponents Colchester are currently sat just outside the playoffs after ending a three-game losing streak with a 0-1 win at Cambridge United last Saturday.
Colchester have no fresh injury concerns, but midfielder Tom Lapsile will most likely miss out with a knock.
Forward Frank Nouble will be back in contention for The U’s after serving a suspension.
The sides last met in the reverse fixture where a brace from Sam Surridge and a goal from Peter Clarke rescued a point for Latics in a 3-3 draw.
In fact, four of the last five meetings between the two sides have ended in draws.
Latics’ last win at Colchester came in April 2014 in a 0-1 win thanks to a goal from Connor Brown.
Oldham Athletic are priced at 12/5 to beat Colchester United.
Dom Shaw and Roy Butterworth will be on commentary on iFollow Latics for supporters who cannot make the game.
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Alternatively, supporters can follow the game with live updates on the club’s official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.