Oldham Athletic will welcome Fylde to Boundary Park on Tuesday in both teams' third game of the 2024-25 National League season.
The home side have won both of their opening games and are currently third, while the visitors are 15th after they won their first game but lost their second.
Match preview
The hosts beat Braintree Town 3-0 in their opening game of the league season on August 10, although they were fortunate to keep a clean sheet considering Braintree missed a penalty in added time of the first half.
Oldham then won 1-0 against Wealdstone on August 17 thanks to a late goal from Harry Charsley in the 86th minute.
Micky Mellon was appointed manager in October, and he guided his club to a 10th-placed finish in 2023-24 with 63 points, two places and two points more than they achieved in 2022-23.
Interestingly, while Mellon's side come into Tuesday's clash with two wins from their last two league games, they ended the 2023-24 campaign with no wins from their final 11 fixtures.
Oldham's record at Boundary Park has also been poor, with their win against Braintree their only victory at home in their last eight matches.
Opponents Fylde began their 2024-25 campaign with a 3-2 win against Solihull Moors, who had midfielder Joss Labadie sent off in the 58th minute when the scoreline was 2-2.
Regardless of the dismissal, great credit should go to hat-trick hero Nicolas Haughton, who secured victory with his 83rd-minute winner.
However, Fylde lost 4-2 against Eastleigh in their second game of the league season on August 15.
Boss Chris Beech will be particularly disappointed with the result given his side had taken a 2-0 lead against Eastleigh after just 27 minutes before conceding twice by the 49th minute.
Beech's team have lost four of their last six league fixtures and have lost their last three away games.
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Team News
Oldham could name a similar starting XI to the team that played against Wealdstone, and the likes of Harry Charsley and Mike Fondop will be looking to make an appearance in the forward line.
Reagan Ogle, Shaun Hobson, Charlie Raglan and Emmanuel Monthe could form a back four in front of goalkeeper Matthew Hudson.
As for the visitors, they could start Danny Ormerod with goalscorer Nicolas Haughton in attack.
Elsewhere, Fylde could start Bryce Hosannah, Emeka Obi, Adam Long and Owen Evans in defence.
Oldham Athletic possible starting lineup:
Hudson; Ogle, Hobson, Raglan, Monthe; Hammond, Conlon, Gardner, Uchegbulam; Charsley, Fondop
Fylde possible starting lineup:
Richardson; Hosannah, Obi, Long, Evans; Mitchell, Whelan; Ustabasi, Haughton, Ormerod; Jolley
We say: Oldham Athletic 3-2 Fylde
Fylde have demonstrated that they are a capable attacking side, but at the same time they have been weak defensively so far this season.
Oldham will feel they can capitalise on the visitors' defensive frailty, though they could concede several chances given they have been poor at Boundary Park in recent matches.
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