Oldham vs Crewe Predictions

A wave of optimism will always greet a new season as the summer break has allowed time for the sins of the previous campaign to be forgotten and the intrigue to build about what the coming season will bring. This weekend sees two sides face off who have had to forget plenty in recent years as Oldham Athletic welcome Crewe Alexandra to Boundary Park.

Last season’s appointment of home town boy Paul Scholes by Oldham Athletic brought plenty of attention to the club, but given he left just a short while after, it is probably attention they could have done without. Since then, the hosts have adopted an approach to fly under the radar and the appointment of Laurent Banide as manager has certainly allowed them to do that. The Frenchman has brought in many players who fans perhaps will not be familiar with which means that Oldham fit perfectly into the category of being an unknown quantity this season, a tag which we think will suit them well.

Making the trip to Boundary Park is a Crewe Alexandra side who will be hoping that they have strengthened sufficiently to make the leap into promotion contenders following a few seasons in the middle of the pack. The Alex have typically done little more than flirt with the play-off places in recent years whilst rarely looking in danger of being dragged into the scrap at the bottom. However, the humbling 3-0 defeat to title contenders Plymouth Argyle on the opening day means that there is plenty for them to prove this time around.

The performance of both of these sides on the opening day of the campaign left a lot to be desired and will be something they will both want to improve on. The hosts managed to show that they have attacking abilities as they put three past Liverpool’s Under 23 side in the Checkatrade Trophy in midweek, while the visitors were pretty free scoring in pre-season. With this in mind, we think that backing both teams to score represents the best chance of a decent return.