Latics will be looking to cause another cup upset this season when they take on Sky Bet Championship side AFC Bournemouth in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday (3pm KO).
Harry Kewell’s men come into the cup clash on the back of a game against Forest Green that had to ultimately be abandoned due to fog.
The scores were level, with Zak Dearnley back scoring after Nicky Cadden had given the hosts the lead at the New Lawn.
Form Guide
The Cherries have enjoyed a decent start to their campaign and are right up there in the table as they look to make an immediate return to the Premier League.
A 1-0 win at Stoke saw them end a short two game run without a win. The previous game was a 2-1 defeat to Brentford and that is their only loss in their last seven games.
It is important to note Bournemouth’s impressive defensive record. They have kept an incredible six clean sheets from their last seven matches, losing to only fourth placed Brentford, away, in that run.
Bournemouth are 3rd in the Championship (59 places above Latics), just two points off an automatic promotion spot with a game in hand.
The Cherries’ last six:
- Stoke City 0-1 AFC Bournemouth
- Brentford 2-1 AFC Bournemouth
- Luton Town 0-0 AFC Bournemouth
- AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers
- AFC Bournemouth 5-0 Huddersfield Town
- Swansea City 0-0 AFC Bournemouth
Head-to-Head
Meetings: 53
Latics wins: 15
Bournemouth wins: 22
Draws: 16
Scored - 64
Conceded - 77
This will be the first time that the two clubs have met since March 2013 where the Cherries got the better of things in the League One fixture with Brett Pitman scoring the only goal of the game at Boundary Park, also losing the return fixture, 4-1.
The margin of victory was the same the last time that Oldham beat the Cherries with Chris Taylor scoring in a 1-0 win at Boundary Park in March 2012.
Team News
In terms of selection, Head Coach Harry Kewell has some decisions to make. Alfie McCalmont looks to have recovered from his knock last weekend, whilst it's unclear whether Danny Rowe and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson are fit to feature.
Defenders Andrea Badan and Kyle Jameson continue to be part of full training after recovering from their hamstring injuries but may not be match ready.
George Blackwood is still a couple of weeks away after a setback in his recovery.
Bobby Grant serves the second game of his three-match suspension again after the abandonment at the New Lawn.
It has to be noted that new rule changes have been made for this round of the competition meaning clubs will be able to name nine players on their bench for the third round tie and use a maximum of five substitutes.
Teams can only take three opportunities to make subs in normal time. Any unused subs can be carried over into extra-time where teams will also then be able to make an additional change as well before penalties if needed to settle the tie, as there will be no replays.
Interesting Info
- Latics are still unbeaten in eight games on the road.
- However, Bournemouth’s home record (7-2-1) is better than Oldham's away record (6-2-2). They lost their first home match of the season on December 1 against Preston.
- FA Cup record: P262 - W103, D54, L105. Scored 385 and conceded 409.
- Last played Bournemouth away in the FA Cup in December 1954 in the second round - which was also the first ever match against Bournemouth (Boscombe Athletic), losing 1-0.
- Random Cup Trivia: Latics' last draw in the FA Cup was back in 2015 against Mansfield.
- Whilst the club are on six wins in eight in the FA Cup (including the recent 'giant-killing of Fulham).
- With it being the 54th match against Bournemouth, the record against them isn't great. It took us 13 matches to record the first win.
- Winning only twice on the South Coast, and both times were 3-0 (1974 and 2007). Whilst losing almost two thirds of matches at Bournemouth since the first one there in 1954.
- Overall record at Dean Court: P27 - W2, D8, L17. Scored 18 and conceded 47.
- On This Day: P16 - W6, D4, L6. Scored 30 and conceded 30. With the away record being; P8 - W4, D2, L2. Scored 15 and conceded 13.
- The highlight matches being: 2-1 win at Ipswich in 1993 (goals for Mark Brennan and Paul Bernard) and a 1-0 win at Notts County in 1999.
Watch Out For
Junior Stanislas is a man in fine form at the moment.
The Bournemouth attacker has an impressive seven goals in his last nine outings for the club and he was on hand to score the winner against Stoke last time out.
The 31-year-old came through the ranks at West Ham United but it was a loan spell at Southend United where he got his first taste of senior football. He showed immediate promise at Roots Hall, scoring twice on his professional debut in the FA Cup.
After returning to the Hammers, he made his Premier League debut in March 2009 and later on in the season scored his first goal for the club in a routine 2-0 win over Sunderland.
Stanislas scored 8 goals in 47 appearances for West Ham before joining Burnley in August 2011.
He chose to join current club Bournemouth in the summer of 2014, citing the chance to work with his former manager Eddie Howe as a big reason for his decision to depart Turf Moor.
And has scored 33 times in his 147 appearances so far playing for Bournemouth.
Familiar Face
Latics fans will fondly remember Sam Surridge.
The young forward enjoyed a successful loan spell with the club in the 2018-19 season.
A highlight of his time with Latics was being involved in the heroic 2-1 win at Craven Cottage in the FA Cup, he scored a penalty in the famous win.
In all competitions, Surridge notched 12 goals in 20 games which was good enough form for Bournemouth to recall their player early.
Surridge has had a more influential role in the Bournemouth side this season than he has had in previous season and he has appeared in 14 of the club’s Championship games this term.
Cup Run
Due to Bournemouth being in the Championship, this is their first outing in this year’s Emirates FA Cup but Latics have had to win twice to make it this far.
Hampton and Richmond was the first hurdle that Oldham had to overcome and goals from Ben Garrity, Bobby Grant and Danny Rowe saw them win 3-2 in what was a brilliant cup tie.
Next up was Bradford City and Harry Kewell’s men had to come from behind to book their place in the third round.
Two brilliant efforts from Conor McAleny and Danny Rowe gave Oldham a 2-1 lead after Clayton Donaldson had given the Bantams the lead from the spot.
In The Dugout
Jason Tindall is the man in the dugout for the visitors.
The 43-year-old replaced Eddie Howe in the summer just gone and Tindall had worked under him as assistant since 2012.
It is only his second job in management, his first coming back in 2007 with Weymouth and had worked with Howe since 2008 at both Bournemouth and Burnley.
Tindall also represented the club as a player and made over 150 appearances for the club.
Stadium
The Vitality Stadium (Dean Court)
After Thursday's announcement the tie has been switched to the South Coast due to the threat of a frozen pitch at Boundary Park.
Dean Court, currently known as the Vitality Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England and the home ground of AFC Bournemouth.
Capacity: 11,364
Record Attendance: 28,799 (vs. Manchester United - 2 March 1957)
Opened: 1910
Renovated: 2001
Latics will be in their blue kit due to the Cherries playing in red and black.
Match Officials
Referee - Andy Woolmer (Northamptonshire)
The experienced Championship official has taken charge of 15 games this season so far, handing out 52 yellow cards and has yet to brandish a red.
Assistants - Steven Meredith & Danny Gratton
Fourth Official - Darren England
Sky Bet Odds
AFC Bournemouth are odds on favourites to progress into the fourth round at 4/9 whilst Latics are 11/2 to pull off another heroic 'giant-killing'.
The price for the score to be level after 90 minutes is 16/5.
Please gamble responsibly by clicking here. For more information visit: www.begambleaware.org
How To Follow The Game
Because the game is still classed as behind-closed-doors, supporters can tune in live after the fixture was selected for broadcast through BT Sport's online digital platforms on BT Sport Extra 6. You will need to have an active subscription with BT to gain access.
Click here for more information and to watch. For additional help, also click here.
A direct match pass live stream from iFollow isn't available as a result due to the rights holders being The FA and BT.
Instead, an audio commentary pass is still available for subscribers through the iFollow Latics service for the fee of £2.50 (if an audio plan hasn't already been purchased on a month or annual basis).
Roy Butterworth and Michael Brown will be talking you through the action on the road as usual.
Alternatively, supporters can also follow the game with live updates on the club's official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.