Football Bet of the Day: Oldham to land National League blow

Wednesday’s football offerings are few and far between but there is one fixture that has caught our eye. Barnet host Oldham Athletic in the National League, live on TNT Sports, with kick-off at 20:00. Below we have previewed this big clash, and come up with our Football Bet of the Day.

This may come as somewhat of a surprise given Barnet are second in the National League and driving towards promotion. Dean Brennan’s side are five points off league leaders Chesterfield and with only one automatic promotion spot, need to put a winning run together or face the uncertainty of the play-offs. 

Meanwhile, Oldham Athletic were tipped to do well this season after a big summer that saw them bring in former Ipswich striker James Norwood. Unfortunately however, the team suffered from a slow start to the season and manager David Unsworth was dismissed. After an upturn in form under caretaker bosses Steven Thompson and Neil Redfearn, Micky Mellon was appointed as permanent manager in October. 

Mellon has huge experience at this level, and the Scot has twice won promotion from the National League, with Fleetwood Town as well as Tranmere Rovers. He is one of the finest managers outside the Football League and will now try to lead Oldham back to League Two.

It’s not been a blistering start from Mellon at Oldham, but there have been glimmers of hope. They beat Woking 1-0 away from home last time out, and beat local rivals Rochdale 4-3 in a thrilling away win. In fact, they’ve now only lost one out of their last ten, and although the large number of draws has hampered their progress up the league, it is clear they are one of the stronger outfits in the league. 

Now with an elite manager in charge, I believe they will start to climb the table, starting against Barnet. The Bees have lost their last two games, to Chesterfield and Gateshead and this poor form has seen them lose ground on their title rivals. 

At a price of 5/2, Oldham are my fancy to cause a shock on Wednesday night. These are two well-matched teams in my eyes, and the prices don’t reflect that right now. With Norwood up front, I can see Oldham getting a statement win live on TNT Sports. 

Check out our other Football Bets of the Day here.