Crewe v Oldham preview

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Crewe are banking on having Greg Leigh available again to face Oldham.

The left-back, who is on loan from Premier League champions Manchester City, has been missing from the Alex’s previous two fixtures due to a shin injury sustained in their most recent win over Scunthorpe, a game which Leigh scored in.

Striker Marcus Haber will play his final match before linking up with Canada again for an international call-up which could rule him out of both the Sheffield United and Crawley fixtures.

Ryan Colclough (hernia and Achilles) last week played 45 minutes for the club’s Under-21s, Matt Tootle (ankle) could be back for the last half-a-dozen fixtures and Ben Garratt (broken leg) may feature before the campaign ends too.

Goalkeeper Jake Kean is unlikely to feature for Oldham at Gresty Road.

The on-loan Blackburn shot-stopper was forced off in the second half of Latics’ 3-1 home loss to MK Dons on Tuesday night and with major swelling still around his knee, teenager Joel Coleman is in line to make his full debut between the sticks.

Defender Anthony Gerrard, who signed from Huddersfield on Thursday, should make his bow for Dean Holden’s injury-depleted side while club captain Adam Lockwood returns having served a one-game suspension.

Holden’s casualty list is still lengthy, though, as it includes Amari Morgan-Smith, Jacob Mellis, George Elokobi and Joseph Mills (all hamstring), as well as Liam Kelly (calf), Dominic Poleon (shoulder) and James Wilson (calf).

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Crewe v Oldham preview

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Abdul Osman should bolster Crewe’s midfield options for their home clash with Oldham in Sky Bet League One.

The Alex’s club captain has not played since February 15 because of a foot injury, yet he returned to training this week ahead of a crucial game where Crewe will be hoping to end a four-game winless streak.

Ajay Leitch-Smith (ankle) was left out of the 1-1 draw with Walsall in midweek but both he and Uche Ikpeazu (ankle), an unused substitute that night, played for the club’s Under-21s on Monday.

Defensive duo George Ray (ankle) and Ollie Turton (knee) also played in that game and could be called upon but both Max Clayton (ankle) and fellow forward Ryan Colclough (stomach) are a little further away from comebacks.

Oldham welcome back three players for their game with Crewe in Sky Bet League One.

Latics are able to call upon on-loan attacking midfielder David Worrall again after he was ineligible to play against his parent club Rotherham in midweek, while striker Jonson Clarke-Harris returns from suspension.

Meanwhile, winger James Dayton should make his comeback from a knee injury which has troubled him in recent weeks.

Oldham do have two long-term injury absentees, though, with central defender Genseric Kusunga (thigh) and midfielder Anton Rodgers (knee) currently occupying the sidelines.

Crewe v Oldham preview

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Crewe are without young winger Ryan Colclough.

The 17-year-old suffered a fractured jaw in a clash with MK Dons midfielder Darren Potter at the weekend and has been ruled out for between five and six weeks.

Midfielder Abdul Osman is expected to miss out once more with the ankle injury that kept him out of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at stadium:mk.

However, Alex boss Steve Davis welcomes back on-loan midfielder Chuks Aneke from his three-match suspension, while Mathias Pogba came through half an hour unscathed on Saturday following a knee injury.

Goalkeeper Steve Phillips is still building up his fitness after his return to training from a knee injury while forward Michael West remains sidelined with an Achilles problem.

Oldham manager Paul Dickov has all 23 of his senior players available.

The Latics boss is under pressure after Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Coventry left the club winless in their last four games.

Dickov is unlikely to make many changes as they make the trip to Gresty Road after his side created the better of the chances against the Sky Blues before conceding a late winner.

Oldham have won just one of their eight league games this season and sections of the club’s supporters were calling for the manager’s head following Saturday’s defeat.

But Dickov insists the club will start to climb the table soon.

“We have to keep going, roll up our sleeves and the results will come,” he told the club’s official website.

“Things are not going well and we are not winning games, but I really do not think we are far away.”