Town are on the road tomorrow looking to make it back to back victories in league action and put behind them the disappointment of their FA Cup exit last weekend.
And the trip across the M62 sees them visit a Rochdale side with a crucial three points on offer as both sides bid to move up the League Two table.
Our opponents
After finishing in 18th place – level on points with Town - in their first season back in League Two a season ago, Dale parted company with manager Robbie Stockdale just weeks into this season.
Stockdale was replaced by former Morecambe and AFC Fylde boss Jim Bentley and he has overseen an upturn in form, having won five and drawn four of his 17 games in charge.
They head into tomorrow's clash on 15 points, one point and one place below Town, having taken seven points from nine games at the Crown Oil Arena. Their recent record shows a return of one win in six and they have suffered narrow 1-0 defeats in their past two league games.
Previous meetings
Town had the upper hand in a memorable clash on opening day at The Envirovent Stadium, with Warren Burrell's injury time winner earning all three points after Dale had pegged back an early two-goal deficit.
In the return fixture a Tahvon Campbell strike three minutes from time rescuing a point after Town had a 3-1 lead early in the second half thanks to an Alex Pattison brace and a Jack Diamond effort.
The man in charge
Jim Bentley has been in charge since mid-August after being appointed to replace Robbie Stockdale. Bentley has plenty of experience in League Two having been in charge at Morecambe for almost a decade before taking the reigns at AFC Fylde.
Before moving into management Bentley made almost 300 appearances for Morecambe.
Ones to watch
Scott Quigley has added four goals in eight starts since arriving on loan from Stockport at the end of August. Fellow strikers Ian Henderson, who rejoined the club from Salford in the summer, and Devante Rodney both have three goals.
Midfielder Toumani Diagouraga has been an ever present and he will likely be partnered by Jimmy Ball.
Irishman Jimmy Keohane will provide width on the right hand side with youngster Sam Graham at the heart of the defence.
History
Formed in 1907, the club formed part of the new Third Division North in 1921. Rochdale made history in 1962 when they became the first lower tier side to reach the League Cup final, although they were ultimately defeated by Norwich City.
It was not until 1969 though that the club earned their first promotion to the third division, where they competed until the 1973/74 season when they were relegated back to the bottom tier. The club narrowly escaped demotion to non-league after both the 1977/78 and 1979/80 seasons.
The turn of the century saw Dale, under manager Keith Hill, begin a period of success and after a couple of playoff heartbreaks they earned promotion for the first time in 41 years after in 2009/10 when they finished third in the table.
Hill's departure to Barnsley triggered a succession of managers at the club over coming seasons that culminated in relegation back to League Two in April 2012. Hill's return to the club resulted in promotion in 2013/14 where the club resided until last season's relegation.
Team news
Simon Weaver continues to be without Will Smith, Max Wright, Dior Angus, Stephen Dooley, Matty Daly and Alex Pattison through injury and Joe Mattock will miss the trip as he serves a one-game suspension following his sending off at Hartlepool last Saturday.