Bury vs Oldham Predictions

Making the adjustment from being a professional football player to being the manager can be a pretty difficult step to make and has seen plenty of former pros fail, but it is a fate that former England and Manchester United star Paul Scholes will be hoping to avoid as he takes over boyhood club Oldham Athletic. This weekend his side faces the difficult prospect of facing off against a Bury side who are currently gunning for the League Two title.

Bury come into this match in excellent shape and they are undefeated in their last nine matches and currently two points off top spot, albeit having played a game more. Last weekend the hosts made the long trip to an Exeter side who have been starting to find their feet again of late and they emerged with a 1-0 victory. Even though that game was a tight affair, it is typically Bury’s strength in front of goal which has seen them be so successful of late and the 63 goals they have scored in their 33 games so far means that they are the top scorers in the division.

Making the trip to Gigg Lane is an Oldham side who are still adjusting to life under Scholes’ stewardship and they will be hoping that this weekend is the time when his methods start to bear fruit. The visitors fell behind early on in Tuesday’s match against struggling Morecambe, and although they managed to get back on level terms, a late winner means that Scholes has managed just one win in his opening three matches as manager. Although his side have been finding the back of the net, they have also been conceding just as consistently and this will surely be the area of focus ahead of this weekend’s fixture.

Although there is a buzz about Oldham at the moment as a result of their managerial appointment, things have got off to a pretty slow start and the defeat to Morecambe at the weekend shows just how much work there is to do. When you consider the hosts impressive form and the fact that they cannot afford to slip up as they contest for the title, then we think that backing a home win is the only way to go in this one.

However, we also think that there is an opportunity for further profit in this fixture as, although Bury may well run away comfortable victors, they can leave themselves open at the back. The fact that 64% o their matches have resulted in both teams scoring, combined with the fact that this has occurred in all three of the fixtures Scholes has taken charge of, suggests to us that combining our initial tip of a home win with both teams to score is an excellent way to increase the potential return.