Oldham Preview

Last updated : 28 December 2002 By Site Staff
Hulsey is back
It's make or break time for the Alex tomorrow. Win and we look like there will be no stopping us in a long time, lose and we could tarnish our hopes of automatics.

With Bristol City and Wigan winning today it means we must beat 5th place Oldham to stay within touching distance of Bristol City. Cardiff also play at 3pm tomorrow if they lose or draw against Huddersfield and we win we can move into 3rd. However should we lose we will be back to square one - 2 points behind Oldham and back in 5th place. Last time we had a chance to move up the league to our highest position of the season though we lost 1-0 at lowly Plymouth.

While we've on 9 and drawn 1 in our last 10 Oldham are hardly play-off material with just 1 win in their last 10 games. Their only win bein at Chesterfield with a scrappy 1-0 win. So their unbeaten away record is on the edge of crumbling with scrappy draws and with us high flying and ouzing with confidence and goals flying in from all over the pitch i can see us romping this agme if recent form is to go on. Last time we played Oldham in the league way back in 1971 on Febuary 21st.

Team news is that Hulse IS playing and it's a matter of who gets the chop. I reckon a 442 formation with Sorvel dropping to the bench, Jack moving onto the right wing and Ashton and Hulse playing up front. Ashton has got 8 goals in under 2 months after such a bad and long barren spell while Hulse has got 16 in 15, these two are possibly 2 of the best strikers in the league and they can play together. Like Yorke and Cole can play together, they just need to learn. Remember when Deano first got into the team? Him and Hulse were a partnership taking the piss out of Div 1.

Other news, Tierney is playing after fears he broke a bone in his foot on Thursday while David Wright returns in place of Sodje after a stomach bug denied him his chance of taking the right back slot at Cheltenham.

How i would line up the team: Ince; Tierney, Walton, Foster, Wright; Vaughan, Brammer, Lunt, Jack; Ashton and Hulse.

Prediction - 2-0 to the Alex. We're a class apart.