Hartlepool United will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing collapse last time out when they welcome bottom-of-the-table Oldham Athletic to Victoria Park in their League Two clash on New Year's Day.
The hosts surrendered a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 back on Boxing Day before seeing their last fixture postponed, whilst the visitors played as recently as Wednesday evening, when they failed to win once more during their turbulent 2021.
Match preview
Despite being completely dominated for most of their trip to Mansfield Town on Boxing Day, Hartlepool found themselves with a 2-0 lead after Luke Molyneux and Nicky Featherstone had netted against the run of play in each half.
However, within 12 second-half minutes, Graeme Lee's side had thrown away their lead and found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline.
The loss was Lee's first since he had taken over at the end of November, after he had initially won his first three matches and drawn the fourth.
With two of those victories arriving in cup competitions, the bright start to his tenure has not altered Hartlepool's lowly league position too much in recent weeks, with the Monkey Hangers occupying 15th spot ahead of the first round of matches of 2022 on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the results and performances have lifted the spirits in the Hartlepool camp in their quest to avoid the drop on their return to League Two, which they are achieving comfortably as things stand, with eight points currently between themselves and Scunthorpe United in the relegation places.
After their fixture with Tranmere Rovers on Wednesday evening was postponed due to COVID-19, Lee and his side will get their first chance of bouncing back from the collapse against Mansfield when they do battle with Oldham on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Oldham's goalless draw with Barrow on Wednesday extended their winless run to six matches in the league, although the welcome clean sheet was the first that they had recorded in nine League Two outings.
With just one of Oldham's fixtures being postponed in recent weeks during a COVID-hit period for the fourth tier, Selim Benachour's men were presented with an opportunity to gain ground on their rivals.
However, the interim boss's side failed to capitalise and remain rooted to the foot of the table heading into 2022, despite having played more fixtures than any team across the division.
After winning just once in their last 11 league outings, the gap between the Latics and safety outside of the relegation places could have been far worse than the current difference of two points, so there remains plenty of reasons for Oldham to be hopeful heading into the new year.
Registering three points at their newly-promoted opponents on Saturday could lift Oldham out of the bottom two, in what would be the perfect start to 2022 after a turbulent 2021 on and off the pitch.
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Team News
Hartlepool will be hoping that the six day break between games has given their previously COVID-hit players a chance to regain their full fitness.
A number of players had been feeling the effects in their defeat to Mansfield, in a game where Jamie Sterry was also substituted early in the second half due to illness.
Tyler Burey will be pushing for a start after he returned from a three-month absence with a late substitute appearance in that match, but he is expected to have to settle for a place on the bench once more.
As for the visitors, bright youngsters Benny Couto and Harry Vaughan will be pushing for starts in the Oldham lineup on Saturday after dropping to the bench against Barrow.
Dylan Bahamboula was also amongst the substitutes, but Davis Keillor-Dunn and Jamie Bowden returned to the squad after previously testing positive for COVID-19.
Hartlepool United possible starting lineup:
Killip; Sterry, Odusina, Liddle, Byrne, Ferguson; Featherstone, Shelton, Holohan; Molyneux, Cullen
Oldham Athletic possible starting lineup:
Leutwiler; Clarke, McGahey, Piergianni, Couto; Cisse, Whelan; Adams, Keillor-Dunn, Bahamboula; Hope
We say: Hartlepool United 2-1 Oldham Athletic
We are predicting Hartlepool to bounce back from their collapse last time out when they face Oldham on Saturday.
The hosts have improved in terms of performances and results since Lee has taken over, whilst the visitors remain in all sorts of trouble and it is difficult to see where their next win is going to come from.
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