Preview: Halifax Town vs. Oldham Athletic

Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s National League clash between Halifax Town and Oldham Athletic, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

On Wednesday, Halifax Town will go head-to-head with Oldham Athletic in a crucial meeting between two sides looking to secure a place in the National League playoffs.

The hosts currently occupy the final playoff spot, while the Latics are sitting five points adrift in ninth position.

Match preview
After taking one point with two matches, Halifax got their playoff bid back on track with a successful away clash against relegation-threatened Kidderminster Harriers.

Max Wright broke the deadlock in the 65th minute, before he grabbed a second goal in the closing stages to wrap up a 2-0 victory.

That win moved the Shaymen into seventh position in the National League table, leaving them one point clear of eighth-placed Aldershot Town, who have played one game more.

Halifax will move one step closer to securing a playoff spot if they can complete a league double over Oldham after recording a narrow 2-1 win in August’s reverse fixture.

The hosts will certainly fancy their chances of claiming all three points, having won four of their previous five home matches (D1).

Oldham have seen their playoff bid hit by an eight-game winless run, which continued with a 1-1 draw in Saturday’s derby with Rochdale.

Hallam Hope opened the scoring in the seventh minute, before Sam Mather equalised with what proved to be the final goal of the game.

Having won just one of their last 11 matches, the Latics know that a defeat on Wednesday will end their hopes of securing a playoff berth.

While a draw would still keep them in the hunt, Micky Mellon will be fully aware that his side need to claim their first win since February 27 if they are to have a realistic chance of achieving a top-seven finish.

Unfortunately for the visitors, they have failed to score in any of their last three away matches since beating Eastleigh at the end of February.

Halifax Town National League form:

Oldham Athletic National League form:

Team News
Halifax boss Chris Millington is unable to call upon the services of Jordan Keene and Tom Wilson, while Wednesday’s contest may come too soon for Angelo Cappello.

Jack Evans is pushing for a starting spot after he came off the bench to feature in the final 35 minutes of Saturday’s win over Kidderminster.

As for the visitors, midfielder Tom Conlon is a doubt after he was left out of the matchday squad for Saturday’s derby.

Mike Fondop is set to serve the third game of a four-match suspension following a straight red card in last month’s defeat to Fylde.

James Norwood will continue to lead the line after scoring 17 goals in 36 appearances in the National League this season.

Halifax Town possible starting lineup:
Johnson; Golden, Senior, Stott, Galvin; Summerfield, Thompson-Sommers, Evans; Wright, Cooke, Harker

Oldham Athletic possible starting lineup:
Hudson; Sutton, Raglan, Hogan, Kitching; McGahey, Lundstram, Gardner; Dallas, Hope, Norwood

We say: Halifax Town 2-1 Oldham Athletic
Both teams will be desperate to claim all three points at this crucial stage of the season, but after winning four of their last five home matches, we think Halifax will make full use of home advantage to pick up a narrow victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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