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| Oldham have recently updated their badge, what do you think? Wise decision? Hahaha... Owl? Wise?... Ohh nevermind!... |
For readers outside the UK, Oldham Athletic are a long-standing football club within the English Leagues. They are based in Greater Manchester and are currently in League One.
Oldham's manager Paul Dickov has been encouraging his side to play with freedom on Friday night and why not? If you're coming to Anfield as underdogs, the best thing to do it go for it. Oldham don't have any real injury worries so the manager will have plenty of choice for his starting XI.
For Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish he of course still has the missing Lucas Leiva and now Luis Suarez out serving his 8 match ban. It will be interesting to see whether Dalglish makes full use of this fixture to bring Gerrard back to fitness and give him a well needed 90 minutes game time.
Oldham's most prolific striker is Shefki Kuqi, the Finnish lad has 8 goals in the league this season and 1 in the FA Cup so Liverpool's defence will need to keep an eye out.
Stat Sandwich
- The last time the Reds played Oldham in the FA Cup was in 1977. Liverpool won 3-1 at Anfield.
- Oldham defender Paul Black was a boyhood Liverpool fan.
- This will be Liverpool's first home draw in a domestic competition since Dalglish returned.
We all know Liverpool's form at home hasn't been great this season and on the back of a heavy defeat to Manchester City, it could quite easily get the nerves going for some fans. Not to mention the fact that anything can and will happen in the FA Cup.
Oldham are currently 14th in League One with 31 points and have only lost once in their last 5 games. The underdogs will be up for it and with just a short trip to Anfield, the rivalry will be present.
Whatever happens it should be an exciting clash but here's hoping Liverpool can progress to the next stage!