Scunthorpe v Oldham preview

Team news ahead of the New Year's Day clash between Scunthorpe and Oldham at Glanford Park.

Scunthorpe winger Mark Duffy is in a race to be fit, while Christian Ribeiro and Jimmy Ryan could also return to the squad. Duffy missed Saturday's defeat at leaders Tranmere after jarring his knee in the Boxing Day loss at Sheffield United and was also struggling with the same illness that sidelined defender Ribeiro and midfielder Ryan. Callum Kennedy stepped in at right-back for Ribeiro on Saturday, while Robbie Gibbons and Adda Djeziri were recalled to midfield and manager Brian Laws will have a selection dilemma if any of his three absentees return to contention. On-loan Ipswich striker Nathan Ellington, yet to score for the Iron, is still struggling with a calf strain, while midfielder Josh Walker is not expected to return from ankle ligament damage. Skipper Paul Reid will continue to play despite a broken nose as Scunthorpe chase only their second win in eight league games. Jean Yves Mvoto is expected to return to Oldham's starting line-up. Mvoto missed Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to Crewe after picking up five bookings for the season and being forced to serve a one-match suspension. Reece Wabara filled in a centre-half in his absence and the on-loan Manchester City youngster is expected to revert to his more familiar position of right-back, with Connor Brown the most likely candidate to make way for Mvoto. Robbie Simpson will serve the third and final game of his suspension for a red card in 4-1 loss at Yeovil, meaning Jose Baxter and Matt Smith are set to continue in attack with weekend goalscorer Daniel Taylor likely to feature from the bench once more. A run of four consecutive npower League One defeats means Paul Dickov's men head into the match only six points ahead of second-bottom Scunthorpe.