The club have successfully appealed the red card shown to Kairo Mitchell on Easter Monday.
Dale’s top scorer was sent off before half-time of the 1-1 draw with Hartlepool United and was due to miss three matches.
However, following a review by an independent FA panel, the decision has been overturned.
Mitchell starts in Saturday’s game at Oldham Athletic.
This is our Hollywood takeover’ – the two Greater Manchester towns who have their football clubs back
The biggest game in Manchester on Saturday won’t come at City or United, but down the road at Boundary Park as Oldham take on Rochdale in the National League.
There will be a Manchester derby of sorts on Saturday, but it won’t be the same as the clash of billion-pound empires between Manchester United and City. The biggest match in Manchester will take place at Boundary Park, not at the Etihad or Old Trafford.
Ironically, seasoned supporters of Oldham and Rochdale call this weekend’s derby match ‘El Crapico’. Despite the fact that both teams are desperate for three points to maintain their dwindling play-off ambitions, this matchup is between two groups that have much more in common than differences. Interestingly, they have both faced liquidation head-on and are still working towards recovery.
Latics and Dale, who are currently four tiers below the Premier League, are working hard to get back into the Football League as soon as possible, but it’s not as easy as it seems. Both teams left the EFL due to quite different ownership crises: Dale is still in the process of obtaining a rescue package to keep the club afloat, while Oldham nearly went out of business in 2022 and is now dealing with a new reality.
