Micky Mellon returns to Shrewsbury Town with in-form Oldham Athletic chasing play-offs

Oldham Athletic will look to continue their strong late push for the League Two play-offs.

They arrive in impressive form, having lost just once in their last 10 matches .

They responded to that solitary defeat with a convincing 3-1 win over Colchester United before holding high-flying Milton Keynes Dons to a 1-1 draw last Monday.

During that run, Oldham have also taken points off league leaders Bromley.

Boss Micky Mellon - who previously guided Shrewsbury to promotion - is relishing the challenge ahead of his return to the Meadow.

He said: “We know it will be difficult game, but it will be difficult for them as well because my team is full of character, grit and determination. We will hopefully find the quality to try and pick up another valuable result.”

Oldham’s have collected 30 points on the road this season, winning eight of their 20 league trips, including four victories from their last six away matches.

The reverse fixture between the sides ended in a 2-2 draw back in October, while the last meeting at Shrewsbury came in January 2018, when the hosts ran out 2-1 winners - their fifth consecutive victory over Oldham at the time.

Shrewsbury have generally had the upper hand in recent meetings, losing just one of the last 10 encounters in all competitions and remaining unbeaten in the previous six.

Oldham’s only recent setback - a 2-1 defeat at Crewe Alexandra - brought an end to a 10-game unbeaten run in which they had won eight times, conceding as many goals in that single match as they had across the entire streak.

Reflecting on their impressive recent form, Mellon said: “We always said that we wanted to produce a team that would represent the fans properly and we really are. The players need to take a massive amount of credit for that.

“I have done this many times now. I know how to go and roll with this and I will keep my players in the right frame of mind and make sure they are ready for every game.”