Trainer Joe Gallagher believes Derry Mathews will need to pull out more to earn a repeat victory over Anthony Crolla on Saturday night.

Mathews came out on top in a shock victory in their first encounter last year, when Crolla was stopped in the sixth round on cuts.

But Gallagher is confident his man will come out on top this time after dominating the opening exchanges in Oldham.

"I thought we'd come through the storm last time and thought the referee panicked a little bit," he told Sky Sports.

"Crolla didn't have to have this fight, he had a fight with Gary Buckland at super-featherweight lined up but he wanted to take care of business.

"You've got to remember last time Crolla won the first two rounds and even after he went down in the third it was Mathews who was taking a body beating on the ropes at the end.

"At the point of the stoppage Derry was starting to wilt, and apart from two or three moments in the fight it was all Crolla, but it was those that won him the fight. He'll need more than that this time."

Mathews will have the support of around 7,000 local fans at the Echo Arena but Gallagher believes the pressure could get to the older man.

"He (Crolla) is looking forward to fighting at the Echo, it's not like it's a fortress for Derry," he added.

"He's been beaten there before and twice at the Olympia, so you look at his record and it suggests he could be better as an away fighter. Maybe the pressure might get to Derry a little bit.

"Hopefully the fight is talked about for the right reasons on Sunday morning, not about the referee or fans or anything else.

"I really can't wait."