Wiganvs.Barnsley

The hosts sit 18th in the League One table after a defeat in their first game under the new boss, while their visitors have dropped to 11th spot under the temporary stewardship of Conor Hourihane.

Match preview

Wigan Athletic return to action for their final stretch of the League One season on Saturday with the aim of recording a first win under Ryan Lowe, having fallen to a defeat in his first game at the helm last time out before their break last weekend.

Shaun Maloney, who led the Latics over 100 times since his January 2023 arrival, departed in early March on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Reading, leaving the Lancashire outfit on 39 points from 33 outings, having won just one of their previous eight league fixtures.

Glenn Whelan then took temporary charge earlier this month, and after a goalless draw with Mansfield Town, he oversaw a return to winning ways as Luke Robinson netted the only goal 13 minutes from time in a 1-0 home triumph over Cambridge United.

Then following the appointment of Ryan Lowe as Maloney's permanent successor, the Latics most recently visited promotion-chasing Charlton Athletic before their recent international break and failed to get up and running under their new boss, succumbing to a 2-1 defeat having failed to find a leveller after Matt Godden had the hosts 2-0 up and Chris Sze halved the deficit six minutes from time.

Now sitting 18th in England's third tier but just two points behind 14th-placed Rotherham United, with a game in hand on most other sides in the division and 10 left to play, Wigan Athletic will hope to end the season on a high with an improved streak under Lowe in the final run-in, beginning on Saturday with just a sixth home league win of the campaign.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head across to Lancashire aiming to record a first win following their own managerial change, albeit still under interim management.

Barnsley head into the weekend aiming to end a dismal run of form in League One, having all but fallen out of reach of achieving a third straight top-six finish in England's third tier, despite sitting in the playoff spots on 42 points from 25 league outings early in the new year.

In their 13 games since, the Reds have added just 11 more points to their tally, having won three of those and lost eight, with back-to-back defeats to Charlton Athletic and Blackpool in early March spelling the end of Darrell Clarke's tenure.

Conor Hourihane has since taken temporary charge, but he has been unable to arrest their slump, with the South Yorkshire outfit going on to lose 2-1 away at Mansfield Town before hosting strugglers Cambridge United last weekend and only taking a point from a 1-1 draw thanks to Jonathan Lewis's injury-time leveller after James Brophy looked to have fired the 23rd-placed side to a 1-0 win at Oakwell.

Now sitting 11th and eight points behind sixth-placed Huddersfield Town with just eight games left to play, one fewer than the majority of sides above them, Barnsley will aim to at least bounce back with a winning run in the coming weeks under Hourihane.

Wigan Athletic League One form:

D

W

L

D

W

L

Barnsley League One form:

W

W

L

L

L

D

Team News

Wigan Athletic continue to contend with a long injury list, as Tyrese Francois, Will Goodwin, Joseph Hungbo, Kai Payne, Dion Rankine, Matt Smith and Silko Thomas are all set to remain confined to the treatment room.

Chris Sze will hope to earn a start in attack in an advanced midfield role, having marked his sixth league appearance of the season and second since early December with a goal off the bench last time out, while Ronan Darcy is also pushing to return from the outset after Owen Dale and Luke Chambers were preferred in support of Dale Taylor last time out.

Key man Taylor will continue to lead the line, having notched up eight goals and seven assists in League One so far this term, while Scott Smith should again get the nod alongside Oliver Norburn and Jensen Weir in the engine room.

Barnsley are hampered by injury troubles of their own, with first and second-choice goalkeepers Joe Gauci and Jackson Smith both sidelined alongside Josh Earl, Marc Roberts, Barry Cotter and Georgie Gent.

Given those absences, Kieran Flavell will again deputise between the sticks in a second consecutive start behind the back three of Mael de Gevigney, Donovan Pines and Conor McCarthy.

Stephen Humphrys, Clement Rodrigues and Jonathan Lewis, who netted their equaliser off the bench last weekend, after Max Watters joined Adam Phillips and Davis Keillor-Dunn, who leads the squad with 13 league goals this season, up front from the start against Cambridge.

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:

Tickle; Carragher, Aimson, Kerr, Mellish; Smith, Norburn, Weir; Dale, Taylor, Darcy

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Flavell; De Gevigney, Pines, McCarthy; Benson, Russell, Connell, O'Keefe; Phillips, Keillor-Dunn, Lewis

We say: Wigan Athletic 2-1 Barnsley

Written by

Sam Varley

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