Altrincham are gearing up for a likely sell-out all-ticket crowd as they stage the biggest game in Greater Manchester this weekend against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round at The J.Davidson Stadium.

Both Manchester giants, City and United, are without a game due to international fixtures, leaving the way clear for Alty and neighbours Oldham to take centre stage as they battle it out for a place in the first round proper.

With Oldham certain to bring a huge away following and Alty’s remarkable five-match winning run in the league sending interest levels soaring among Robins fans, club officials at Moss Lane are confident every last ticket will have been sold by the time kick off arrives at 3pm on Saturday.

Alty boss Phil Parkinson summed up the mood of determination in the home camp by saying: “Oldham are a Goliath in this division, and we could not have had a more difficult draw.

“Some people might suggest Chesterfield would have been, but it honestly doesn’t get any harder than Oldham in terms of bragging rights and everything else that comes with the two teams’ locality, plus the fact they are not far behind us in the form table.

“It should be the tie of the round, really. We are bang in form and they are a huge team, and we are going to need our A game to get through.

“When you speak about the FA Cup, you want a big gate, and when you look at the numbers we are expecting, it should be a really entertaining game and a great occasion. We will be focused on doing what is needed.”

Alty warmed up with an outstanding 2-0 win at Gateshead on Saturday, lifting them into fourth place in the National League.

“It could not have gone much better,” said Parkinson.

“There are always areas for improvement, but the way we restricted a team who have been getting lots of plaudits and are top scorers in the division was a great credit to the players.”