From the First Whistle - Colchester v Oldham

[Stevie_J]

 

Latics travel south to face Colchester United tomorrow with Jean Yves M'voto available for selection after he served a one-match ban for his sending off at Scunthorpe, sitting out last week's home win against Rochdale. He may well have to settle for a place on Paul Dickov's bench however, after Nathan Clarke's impressive début in Latics' first clean sheet of the season.

 

The 27-year-old loanee from Huddersfield was not only assured defensively but also scored Latics' second goal on the stroke of half-time, as Dickov's men ran out 2-0 winners against a Dale side who offered little.

 

Hot prospect David Mellor returns to the Latics squad after being sent home shortly before kick-off for the Rochdale game due to illness, news which sparked rumours that his impressive début in the win over Scunthorpe would be his first and last game for the club and that the 17-year-old was on the verge of a move to the Premiership.

 

Josh Parker looks set to miss out due to a knee injury suffered in a clash with Rochdale 'keeper Jake Kean, last weekend. Parker left Boundary Park on crutches but is named in Dickov's 19-man squad and one hopes this is an indication that the crutches were merely precautionary but there have been no updates from the club as to the severity of the injury.

 

John Ward's side should prove a tougher test than Rochdale but they have stuttered so far this season. Having faced Preston, Charlton and Huddersfield within their opening four league games though, Colchester have gone up against three of the division's favourites already. Reeling from consecutive defeats, the U's will be determined to get their season back on track tomorrow.

 

Kayode Odejayi has found the net three times already this season, as has goalscoring winger Ian Henderson and so Alex Cisak and his backline will do well to add to that first clean sheet kept last week.

 

Latics squad: Cisak, M'voto, Black, Wesolowski, Diamond, Clarke, Morais, Reid, Diallo, Smith, Brooke, Parker, Taylor, Lee, Lund, Millar, Winchester, Gerrard, Millar.

 

Predicted starting line-up:

Cisak

Lee Diamond Clarke Black

Morais Winchester Wesolowski Mellor Taylor

Reid

 

Scoreline prediction:

Colchester 1-1 Oldham