Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

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

sportsmole.co.uk, 14 March 2024, 15:21
Wigan Athletic will be looking to bounce back from defeat in their last game as they host playoff hopefuls Blackpool this Saturday at the DW Stadium.

The hosts come into the game with little to play for as they sit mid-table in League One, while the visitors are just a point behind sixth-placed Stevenage as they hunt for a spot in this season's playoff positions.

Match preview

Wigan have had a tough time in the past few years, with them being relegated as the worst side from the Championship last season before being handed an eight-point deduction ahead of the 2023-24 campaign after failing to meet an English Football League funding deadline.

Shaun Maloney got his side off to a positive start by picking up 10 points from the opening four outings, but a tough spell followed when they managed just one further win in their next seven games.

Since that, Wigan have been able to climb out of the relegation zone and now find themselves firmly in the middle of the table with just eight matches left to play, leaving Maloney's side destined for another season in League One as they sit 14 points behind the playoffs and 13 above the bottom four.

Wigan will still have their eyes set on climbing as high up the table as possible in these remaining games, and they will want to get back to winning ways after a disappointing loss to Wycombe Wanderers in their last game despite being the dominant side throughout.

They now come up against a Blackpool side who finished just two points above them in the Championship last campaign and joined them for this year's League One contest.

This fixture has largely gone against Wigan in recent times with Blackpool taking four wins from the last five meetings, leaving Maloney's side out for revenge in this one.

Blackpool's remaining eight matches have much more riding on them compared to their opponents as they find themselves in a five-team race for the final playoff spot, which is currently occupied by Stevenage, who are a point better off than Blackpool and also have a game in hand over the chasing pack.

Neil Critchley's side have been lurking just outside of the top six for the entire season and he will be hoping his team can put together a good run of results between now and the end of the season to finally get into those desired playoff positions.

Despite enjoying a mostly positive season, Blackpool's away form has been rather disappointing as they have managed only six wins from their 19 games on the road.

With half of their remaining games seeing them play as the visiting team, the Tangerines will have to improve on this record, starting with a result against Wigan on Saturday.

Top scorer Jordan Rhodes has failed to score since the turn of the year, and Critchley will hope that the Huddersfield Town loanee will return to form at the tail end of the season with every game crucially important in their race for sixth spot.

Wigan Athletic League One form:

W

D

W

L

W

L

Blackpool League One form:

W

W

L

W

D

W

Blackpool form (all competitions):

L

W

L

W

D

W

Team News

Maloney has just the one absentee heading into this game as Callum McManaman misses out with an ankle injury that he sustained in the 1-0 victory over Leyton Orient.

Jason Kerr and Jordan Jones could see a return to the side after missing out with injuries in the previous game against Wycombe.

As for Blackpool, they will be without multiple first-team players following a string of recent injuries.

Andy Lyons suffered an ACL injury against Leyton Orient and is out for the remainder of the season, while James Husband is also out with a thigh injury. Albie Morgan also remains out.

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:

Tickle; Hughes, Goode, Morrison; J. Smith, Adeeko, S. Smith, Chambers; Jones, Magennis, Aasgaard

Blackpool possible starting lineup:

Grimshaw; Pennington, Ekpiteta, Casey; Lawrence-Gabriel, Dembele, Norburn, Byers, Coulson; Rhodes, Beesley

We say: Wigan Athletic 1-2 Blackpool

This fixture has gone in Blackpool's favour more often than not in recent meetings between these two sides, with the Tangerines claiming four victories in the last five games.

Previews by email

Top News

16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu for the second leg of their playoff clash on Wednesday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has two mouthwatering games on Sunday and talkSPORT has all the latest. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Taking a slender lead to San Siro, Feyenoord endeavour to finish the job on AC Milan when they reconvene for Tuesday's Champions League playoff second leg. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has confirmed that he has undergone surgery on the severe knee injury that he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford is reportedly still hopeful of completing a 'dream switch' to Barcelona during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to make a €150m (£125m) move for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hatayspor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) Round 24 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign pits relegation candidates Hatayspor against mid-table Alanyaspor at the Mersin Stadyumu on Sunday evening. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nijmegen vs. Almere City (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it back-to-back wins and move closer to escaping the foot of the Eredivisie table, Almere City will travel to the Goffertstadion on Sunday to take on NEC. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 1.00pm) Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to 15 matches when they head to Espanyol on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fiorentina vs. Como (Sunday, 11.30am) Top-four contenders Fiorentina will aim to boost their hopes of European qualification on Sunday, as they welcome Serie A strugglers Como to Stadio Franchi. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) European hopefuls Werder Bremen will welcome relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to Weserstadion on Sunday in their 22nd Bundesliga game of the season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Montpellier vs. Lyon (Sunday, 2.00pm) Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hearts vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Hearts host Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, hoping to boost their chances of qualifying for European football next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool vs. Wolves (Sunday, 2.00pm) With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could face a difficult test at Anfield on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will have to show improvements from last time out, Reds expert David Lynch has argued. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo took to Instagram and confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time after suffering an injury in training. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has hinted that he would be happy to stay at Anfield despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly accepted that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will leave in the summer transfer window, and are said to be willing to do business for a fee of £30-40m. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal might be struggling for strikers but one former wonderkid is loving life away from north London. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal should not give any thought to signing an "out of shape" free agent to solve their attacking shortage, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Xabi Alonso continues to haunt his former employers Bayern Munich. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Despite being by far the better side, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich at BayArena on Saturday in an anticlimactic six pointer in the Bundesliga title race. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Aaron Lennon believes Tottenham's clash against Manchester United could be a preview of the Europa League final. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton won their fourth Premier League match in five as they beat hosts Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could make two changes to his XI for Monday's La Liga contest with Rayo Vallecano. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will welcome Rayo Vallecano to Estadi Olímpic Lluis Companys on Monday night knowing that a victory would see them rise above Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid to the top of the La Liga table. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Galatasaray will travel to face Caykur Rizespor at the Caykur Didi Stadium, aiming to maintain their lead at the top of the Turkish Super Lig table. 15 February 2025 talksport.com It takes a lot to shock Troy Deeney but Bournemouth star Justin Kluivert nearly rendered him speechless.
there is nothing here yet