Latics play their second game at Boundary Park in a week as they welcome Southend United for another Sky Bet League Two clash (3pm KO).
Last time out, Oldham fell to a 2-0 defeat against Bolton Wanderers in a game that saw them reduced to 10 men in the first half with Kyle Jameson being shown red.
Form Guide
Southend come into this game on a mixed run of form having won two of their last six.
The Shrimpers have been down at the bottom of the table for the whole season, but they have shown an upturn in form since the start of the campaign and this has lifted them out of the bottom two and into 22ndplace.
They do still have a lot to do if they are to avoid back to back relegation as both Barrow and Grimsby below them have two games in hand and will catch Southend if they can win those games.
The Shrimpers’ last six:
- Cheltenham Town 1-0 Southend United
- Southend United 0-0 Salford City
- Forest Green Rovers 1-3 Southend United
- Southend United 0-1 Bolton Wanderers
- Cambridge United 0-0 Southend United
- Newport County 0-1 Southend United
Head-to-Head
Meetings: 40
Latics wins: 13
Southend wins: 17
Draws: 10
Scored: 36
Conceded: 56
When the sides met at Roots Hall earlier on in the season it was Oldham who got the better of proceedings, winning 2-1.
Bobby Grant opened the scoring in the 49th minute but his effort was cancelled out by a 79th minute equaliser by Tom Clifford and it looked like the points were going to be shared until a late goal from Zak Dearnley ensured Latics took all three points.
Team News
It looks like Zak Dearnley is out of action for an extended period with another injury.
Marcus Barnes, Andrea Badan, Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Sido Jombati are all battling recent knocks and may also miss out.
Kyle Jameson starts his three game suspension after his sending off on Tuesday with Ben Garrity, Marcel Hilssner and Conor McAleny working hard to get back in the matchday squad after injury.
Interesting Info
- Latics won more away than at home against Southend.
- Winning once at home against Southend since 1973.
- Winning 2-1 at Roots Hall earlier in the season ended a run of four straight defeats without scoring, and conceding 10.
- The biggest win was 3-0 in 1970 at home.
- Did go seven unbeaten against them between 2007 and 2011 (W4 D3).
- We’re 17th, they’re 22nd.
- We have 38 points, they have 28.
- We have 11 wins, they have 7.
- We’ve scored 49, they’ve scored 21.
- We’ve conceded 56, they’ve conceded 47.
- They’ve won two in their last six, both away from home (at Newport & Forest Green Rovers).
- They only got two points in their first 11 matches, so 26 points in the 21 since.
Familiar Faces
Current Southend player Timothee Dieng will be known to Latics fans as he played for the club between 2014 and 2016.
It was his move to Boundary Park that gave Dieng his first taste of English football as he joined from French outfit Brest.
He had played 43 times for Brest’s B side and went on to make just six appearances for their first team before swapping France for the North West of England.
He played 68 times in his spell with Oldham and scored one goal in the process.
The 28-year-old then moved to Bradford City following his time with Latics and after two seasons with the Bantams he departed for his current club Southend United.
He has played over 100 times for the Shrimpers and has eight goals to his name for the club.
Southend keeper Mark Oxley also has previously appeared for Latics.
The 30-year-old shot stopper spent the best part of the 2013/14 season with Oldham on loan from Hull City.
His season spent at Boundary Park was the fifth out of six loan moves that Oxley had away from parent club Hull City and he finally left permanently to join Hibernian in 2015.
He then joined Southend in July 2016 and has become a popular figure winning both fans and players’ player of the year awards following the 2017-18 season.
In The Dugout
Mark Molesley is the man in the dugout for the visitors.
The 39-year-old was appointed manager at Roots Hall in August 2020 and it is his first role as manager in the Football League.
His previous experience of management comes in non-league with Weymouth as well as spells within the youth setup at Bournemouth.
Match Officials
The referee for the game is Ollie Yates.
Taking charge of 21 games so far this season, he has handed out 70 bookings with two red cards.
The last time he officiated a Latics fixture was October 2019 in a 2-0 win against Walsall at Boundary Park. Yates gave a red card that game Mat Sadler
He will be assisted by Kevin Mulraine and Declan Ford, with James Bell as the Fourth Official.
Sky Bet Odds
Latics have been made favourites for this game and are priced at evens to take all three points.
The Shrimpers are 13/5 to condemn Oldham to back to back defeats at Boundary Park in a week, whilst the draw is 23/5.
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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 by clicking here.
In the current environment, there is a greater dependence on match streaming than ever before.
As a result iFollow generates one of the only revenue streams available to clubs through these financial challenges.
Piracy - and illegal streaming of matches - does not only carry the risk of potential criminal action, but also has a greater financial impact on clubs while supporters are unable to attend matches.
The EFL's campaign would like to not only convey the message that piracy is immoral and illegal, but that it is also financially damaging club's across the divisions.
For more information on the campaign and iFollow, click here.
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 lockdown restrictions in place.