Latics welcome Wigan Athletic to Boundary Park for a last 16 tie in the Papa John’s Trophy tonight (7pm KO).
The hosts come into the cup clash on the back of successive goalless stalemates against Barrow AFC and Hartlepool United in Sky Bet League Two.
Form Guide
Standing in Oldham’s way in pursuit of a place in the quarter-finals is Sky Bet League One outfit, Wigan.
Selim Benachour’s men will have their work cut out as they face a side in strong form.
They have gone twelve games without defeat in all competitions.
As such, they are competing at the top of the third tier looking to win promotion to the Sky Bet Championship and remain in the Emirates FA Cup as well as the Papa John’s.
They are third in League One, four points away from Sunderland in second place with a game in hand on the Black Cats.
Wigan’s Last Six:
- Oxford United 2-3 Wigan Athletic
- Wigan Athletic 1-1 Ipswich Town
- Wigan Athletic 2-1 Shrewsbury Town
- Colchester United 1-2 Wigan Athletic (FA Cup Second Round)
- Accrington Stanley 1-1 Wigan Athletic (Papa John’s Trophy – won on penalties)
- Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Wigan Athletic
Head-to-Head
Meetings: 18
Latics wins: 5
Wigan wins: 10
Draws: 3
Scored - 18
Conceded - 29
The last time that the clubs were in the same division was the 2017/18 campaign.
Wigan got the better of Oldham in both of the fixtures; triumphing 3-0 at the DW Stadium in March 2018 whilst claiming a 2-0 win at Boundary Park earlier on in the season.
The last time that Latics beat Wigan came in the League cup back in August 2016.
Goals from Ryan Flynn and Josh Law on either side of a Will Grigg equaliser saw Latics progress to the next round of the competition.
Trophy So Far
Similar to Latics, Wigan finished second in their Papa John’s Trophy group stage.
Their group consisted of Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s, Crewe Alexandra, and Shrewsbury Town.
They picked up four points; losing to Crewe, beating Shrewsbury drawing to Wolves’ youngsters before losing on penalties.
Wigan overcame Accrington Stanley in their only knockout game of the season, so far.
Oldham finished second in a group with Tranmere Rovers, Salford City, and Leeds United U21s before beating Sunderland at the Stadium of Light in the knockouts.
Watch Out For
Will Keane is amongst the deadliest of strikers in the third tier this year, with ten goals to his name in the league already.
Also, Keane found the back of the net in Wigan’s last outing. He scored the opening goal in the eighth minute against Oxford United in their 3-2 win.
The 28-year old came through the youth system at Manchester United and made a handful of appearances for the Red Devils.
But he was mostly sent out on loan whilst with United and left on a permanent basis for Hull City in 2016. Again, he struggled in the Premier League and an injury picked up against Southampton in November 2016 kept him out of action until January 2018.
Keane left the Tigers for Ipswich Town on a loan deal that was eventually made permanent by the Tractor Boys.
In October 2020, he joined Wigan for his second spell with the club.
His good form at his current club earned him his first taste of international football with the Republic of Ireland in November 2021.
Familiar Face
Oldham fans will remember the name, Callum Lang.
Lang, 23, has been part of the setup at Wigan since 2013 after leaving the youth ranks at Liverpool.
His time with Oldham came whilst on loan from his parent club for the 2018/19 season.
Lang was a popular figure at Boundary Park. He made 50 appearances over the season, netting an impressive 16 goals.
His most famous goal was Oldham’s winner at Craven Cottage in a 2-1 FA Cup shock against Premier League opposition.
He is in good form this season too, netting 11 times in all competitions.
In The Dugout
Leam Richardson is the man in the dugout for the visitors.
It is Richardson’s second job in football management following a spell at Accrington Stanley in 2012/13.
He arrived at Wigan in 2017, acting as Paul Cook’s Assistant Manager.
He was eventually offered the top permanent job in April 2021 after a spell as interim boss.
Match Officials
The official in the middle for the game is Ross Joyce.
Joyce last officiated a Latics game in October 2021 as we were defeated by Walsall at Boundary Park. On that day, he handed out three yellow cards and zero red cards.
He's taken charge of 18 games, so far, this campaign, handing out a total of 59 yellow cards and three red cards.
Joyce will be assisted by Stephen Wade and Kenwyn Hughes, with Robert Lewis as the Fourth Official.
Sky Bet Odds
Wigan are 3/5 favourites to advance to the next stage of the competition.
Oldham are 17/4 to progress whilst the odds on the score being level after 90 minutes are 14/5.
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How To Follow The Game
Live match action on the £10 'match pass' is available on iFollow Latics in the UK and overseas for supporters who can't attend in person, with Roy Butterworth and Michael Brown talking you through the match action.
For more information, visit the iFollow Latics page by clicking here.
Alternatively, supporters can also follow the game with live updates on the club's official Twitter account: @OfficialOAFC.