Two of the lowest-ranked possession sides in League Two go head-to-head this weekend as Cheltenham travel up to Boundary Park to face Oldham.
Both teams played at home to Premier League opposition’s Under-21s sides and both picked up wins, albeit Cheltenham drew and won the penalty shootout after George Miller, scored a 96th minute equaliser against Spurs.
Recent Troubles
In the league, the last few games have been difficult for both, as they both lost recently to Salford and are yet to get a win in October.
Cheltenham have been leaky at the back all season, yet to keep a clean sheet and have conceded joint second most goals in the league; as for Oldham, who last season were imperious at the back conceding only 44 goals and keeping the second most clean sheets, have conceded 13 goals, although they kept a clean sheet in their previous game.
Cheltenham have had a difficult time with the referees, as two games in a row they’ve gone down to 10 men and even Steve Cotterill was suspended for three games recently. Despite an appeal, Ben Stevenson’s red card remains and he misses this game; however, top scorer Charlie McCann is back after his one-match suspension.
For Oldham and Mickey Mellon, the last few weeks have been extremely challenging. After two wins and two clean sheets in the opening three games, Oldham are yet to find another win in the league since then, a winless run stretching to six games, only scoring three goals and conceding eleven in that period.
Differing Attacking Problems
With Charlie McCann coming back from suspension, Steve Cotterill is left with a problem as strikers George Miller and Andreas Weimann have both been scoring consistently; George Miller has scored four goals in three starts and six goal contributions in his last seven starts.
The Latics have the opposite issue though, Callum Kavanagh has four goals and three assists in seven league starts, but is the only Oldham player to have scored more than once this season in the league, and only one other player, Jamie Robson, has more than one assist in the league.
Penalties has been a topic of interest for either side, but for differing reasons; the Robins have been awarded three penalties this season and scored two, where Oldham have conceded three penalties and goalkeeper Matthew Hudson has saved two.
Previous Matchups
Oldham won both games last season, with the game before that being a win for Cheltenham in 2021, as the two sides had not played each other in five seasons before last.
A 3-0 win away for Oldham in September last year was the final game for previous manager Michael Flynn; a danger which current gaffer Steve Cotterill would not feel he is anywhere near.
In the last five games, there have been two 3-0 wins, one for either side, Oldham picking up two 2-1 victories, both at home with the final game being a 2-0 win for Cheltenham.
Both sides last season went on impressive unbeaten runs, Cheltenham going eight games unbeaten, with Oldham’s run just slightly better as they went 10 games unbeaten including five wins and four clean sheets on the bounce.
Team News
Second-choice goalkeeper Joe Day started the match vs Spurs U21s, but came off after 18 minutes due to a suspected back injury, however Cotterill said they weren’t sure if it was a back or hip injury. 18-year-old Mamadou Diallo was subbed in and made his first appearance in over a year, and even saved two penalties.
Joe Tomlinson is still yet to make the squad after coming off against Accrington, and Favour Onukwuli is still injured.
For Oldham, Ryan Delaney and Josh Stevens are both major misses, but are not new injuries.
