Forest Green Rovers will welcome in the New Year by taking on Oldham Athletic at the New Lawn, searching for a win that could take them to the top of the League Two.

Mark Cooper’s side go into the game on the back of a disappointing home defeat to Crawley Town in midweek, and they are looking to improve on a run of just two wins in their last five matches that has seen them fail to capitalise on a number of slip-ups by table-toppers Newport County.

Slack defending allowed Crawley striker Tom Nichols to bag a brace either side of a thunderous Jake Young free-kick as the Gloucestershire club failed to take advantage of Newport’s game against Exeter City being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for the world’s first vegan football club, as impressive December wins over fellow high-flyers Cambridge United and Carlisle United have kept them in the automatic promotion places, and this week top-scorer Jamille Matt triggered an extension in his contract that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2022.

Matt has been in fine form since making the move from Newport in the summer, scoring nine goals in the league already – including the winner against Carlisle a fortnight ago – as he looks to secure promotion to the third tier that evaded him during his time in South Wales.

The defeat to Crawley was only the second time Forest Green have lost at home in the league this season, but that impressive record will be put to the test by Harry Kewell’s Oldham on Saturday.

The Latics have been formidable on the road since the former Leeds and Liverpool winger was appointed manager in August, losing just twice, and Tuesday’s 0-0 draw at Grimsby meant they missed the chance to set a club record of eight away wins in a row in all competitions.

A game of few chances will be remembered mostly for a first EFL start for 17-year-old striker Junior Luamba in the absence of regular forwards Danny Rowe and Conor McAleny.

Despite their impressive form on their travels, Kewell’s side currently sit 14th in League Two as they have struggled to pick up points at Boundary Park all season.

Their leaky defence has undermined the goal-scoring of former Everton academy star McAleny and some impressive performances from Leeds United loanee Alfie McCalmont in midfield.

Although they have conceded more goals than any other side in League Two, Oldham are only four points shy of a Play-Off spot, and a win against a fourth-tier heavyweight like Forest Green would inspire the real belief that Kewell is guiding them in the right direction after years of off-field issues and underwhelming performances on it.

Forest Green and Oldham last met in February 2020 when they shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Boundary Park just a week before the League Two season was suspended due to Covid-19.

The home side are unbeaten in all four of their meetings with the Latics, with the solitary win coming at the New Lawn in August 2019.

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Defenders Kane Wilson and Liam Kitching are both likely to be missing for Forest Green with respective hamstring and groin injuries, whilst Odin Bailey’s loan from Birmingham City came to an end following the Crawley game.

Danny Rowe and Conor McAleny both missed Oldham’s draw at Grimsby with unspecified injuries and it remains to be seen if they will be available for this one.

Attacker Bobby Grant is still suspended after being sent off against Harrogate on Boxing Day, but Andrea Badan and Kyle Jameson may be available after recovering from hamstring injuries of their own. George Blackwood will not be available though after a setback in his recovery.

Forest Green manager Mark Cooper spoke about what he wants to see from his players following the Crawley defeat:

“They have to stay together. When you lose a game you don’t want two or three (players) going ‘well I was alright, it was him over there (at fault)’.

“We’ve got to stay together, we’ve lost a game of football, that’s it. We’ll dust ourselves down and go again.”

Oldham Athletic boss Harry Kewell reflected on Junior Luamba’s opportunity to stake a claim for a regular spot in the first team:

“I thought he worked very hard (against Grimsby) and I think he is a special talent. He gets overlooked a lot, but he’s got an opportunity now because we have a few striker problems, so hopefully he can recover (from the midweek game) and we’ll see what happens.”

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