Preview: Cheltenham Town vs. Wigan Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

Wigan will be feeling confident facing the lowest scorers in English professional football given a fantastic run of form which has moved them clear of trouble despite their points deduction.

Match preview

Cheltenham still have that moniker attached to them despite a clear upturn in form of late which has at least seen them climb off the bottom of League One.

Their record of six goals from 15 league matches looks woeful, but it is even more remarkable to consider that they have all come in their last four games - the four since Darrell Clarke took over as manager.

Changing Cheltenham's fortunes has earned Clarke some recognition too, as he is one of the nominees for League One's Manager of the Month for October.

The Robins have won seven points from a possible 12 under Clarke, and they threatened to make a comeback at promotion-chasing Blackpool but fell to a 3-2 defeat.

That loss came before a 2-1 win at EFL Cup quarter-finalists Port Vale, as drawing with Derby County and beating Cambridge United also helped move them off the foot of the table.

However, things have slightly unravelled in the past week for Clarke, as the FA Cup and EFL Trophy provided very little for the fans to be optimistic about.

Defeats to AFC Wimbledon and West Ham United's Under-21s, albeit with a much-changed side in the latter, saw Cheltenham lose by a combined score of 9-1.

Defeat to West Ham's youngsters saw them fail to find the net for just the second time under Clarke in a 4-0 defeat, but given the number of changes which were made in both games, it is harsh to be too critical on those performances, both of which came in the EFL Trophy.

The fans may still be scarred from an absolutely astonishing opening 11 games of the season which saw Town fail to score a single goal, but what was equally as incredible, was the fact that their only point in that spell came away to league leaders Portsmouth.

It took Cheltenham over 17 hours of play to net their first league goal this season, but they appear to be much more of a challenging outfit now under Clarke, despite their FA Cup embarrassment last weekend.

Wigan have been battling against the odds this season, having been given an eight-point deduction by the EFL, but they look like they will safely move clear of trouble in League One.

Shaun Maloney's side are now 17th, three points above the drop zone, but they would be seventh had they not started on minus-eight points.

The Latics have shown a lot of promising signs since a four-game losing streak was ended in early October.

A 3-2 defeat to Charlton Athletic has been their only blip since then, as three 2-0 wins over Exeter City, Oxford United and Shrewsbury Town moved them out of the bottom four.

Wigan's midweek win over Peterborough United was arguably their best yet though, as it ended the Posh's 13-game unbeaten streak.

The 2-1 win was the sixth straight game in which Wigan have scored two goals, and their attack has been critical in moving them up the standings, as they have scored the same amount as Portsmouth, who are top.

Cheltenham Town League One form:

L

L

D

W

L

W

Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):

L

W

L

W

L

L

Wigan Athletic League One form:

L

W

W

W

L

W

Wigan Athletic form (all competitions):

W

W

W

L

W

W

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Team News

Cheltenham handed a debut to Tom Pett as a second-half substitute in the defeat to AFC Wimbledon, just a few days after he joined the club on a free transfer.

Elliot Bonds picked up an injury shortly before that cup clash at Plough Lane and is set to miss out again here for the hosts.

Despite a bruising midweek defeat, there was one notable moment, as Sopuru Obieri became Cheltenham's youngest ever player at 15 years and 303 days, but the teenage attacker is unlikely to be part of the squad here.

After going with a strong side for the FA Cup tie at Exeter last weekend, there were very few changes to Maloney's Wigan side for the win over Peterborough.

Some were enforced though, as Sean Clare's injury meant Omar Rekik came in to deputise, while Thelo Aasgard also missed out with a minor issue.

Babajide Adeeko was absent with suspension after picking up five yellow cards, but he will be available again at the weekend.

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Bevan, Davies, Williams; Long, Thompson, Sercombe, Ferry; Lloyd, Street, Goodwin

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:

Tickle; Rekik, Hughes, Morrison, Sessegnon; Smith, Shaw, Lang; Godo, Humphrys, Jones

We say: Cheltenham Town 0-2 Wigan Athletic

In a first away game following four straight home league outings, Wigan will have to adjust to unfamiliar surroundings here against a Cheltenham side who are not as soft as they were at the start of the season.

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