Match Preview: Oldham Athletic vs Liverpool - FA Cup

Venue: Boundary Park

Referee: Lee Probert

Kick-Off: 16: 00 GMT, 21: 30 IST

A resurgent Liverpool side will be making a short trip to Greater Manchester to face League One (third division) side Oldham Athletic in the fourth round of the historical FA Cup tournament. The Reds, fresh from a 5-0 drubbing of Norwich City last weekend, will head into this match with an apt amount of confidence, having beaten Oldham 5-1 at Anfield in last season’s third round tie, and having won six out of their last nine league matches. Oldham, on the other hand, have been struggling, and have lost seven of their last eight games, and sit 19th in the League One table, and could face relegation to League Two if their form doesn’t pick up.

We have here an ideal David vs Goliath encounter, where David is struggling heavily, and Goliath has had an impeccable record all season long against similar ‘Davids’. As Mansfield Town nearly proved last time out, anything is possible in the legendary club competition, which still produces moments of absolute magic, despite being called a ‘waste of time’ in recent years.

Team News:

Liverpool

Liverpool have a daunting challenge in mid-week, as they have to travel to Arsenal, which will be one of their hardest fixtures of the season. Brendan Rodgers will look to rest plenty of his first team stars against Oldham, and give a run out to the fringe players and the youth players. Last season’s beaten finalists will still be without full-back Jose Enrique and goalkeeper Pepe Reina, as Enrique is still a couple of weeks away, and Reina’s return date is still unspecified.

Rodgers will rest the likes of Gerrard, Sterling, Suarez, Johnson, and Agger against the Latics, while Fabio Borini may be in line for a start, having only recently returned from injury. Daniel Sturridge will probably start too, picking up valuable match fitness.

Oldham Athletic

Club captain Dean Furman and Cristian Montano are the only prominent absentees for misfiring manager Paul Dickov, and the once highly touted Everton youngster and star striker Jose Baxter is expected to lead the attack against the mighty Liverpool defence. Furman misses out, due to international duty for the Republic of South Africa in the African Cup of Nations. Baxter is also a childhood Liverpool fan, and will be looking to secure a famous victory over his idols.

The Latics, who beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in the third round, have a nearly full squad to select from, and Dickov will likely start with his strongest line-up in order to secure a result against the Reds.

Formation and line-up:

Liverpool (4-2-3-1):

Jones

Wisdom – Carrgher – Coates – Robinson

Lucas – Allen

Suso – Shelvey – Borini

Sturridge

Oldham Athletic (4-4-2):

Bouzanis

Wabara – Mvoto – Bryne – Grounds

M’changama – Sutherland – Smith – Croft

Baxter – Simpson

Interesting Facts:

- Oldham have faced Liverpool four times in the FA Cup. They have lost all four times.

- Oldham have not progressed past the fourth round in 19 years, having reached in semis that time, only to lose to Man United.

- Liverpool have beaten Oldham in 20 of their previous 30 games, having lost only six.

- The Reds last tasted defeat against third tier opposition in the Cup in 1999, when they lost 2-0 to Bolton.

- The Latics have lost their last three matches, and their solitary win in the last nine games was their 3-2 defeat of Forest in the third round.

Prediction:

Baxter and stand-by captain James Wesolowski are both lifelong Reds, and will by inspired to put on an excellent shift on Sunday, and just like the rest of Oldham, will play the game like it’s the final itself. Despite that, the Reds possess far too much firepower for the League One minnows, and judging by their monumental form against the ‘lesser’ sides this season, they should comfortably progress to the quarter finals.

prediction: Oldham Athletic 1-3 Liverpool