Wiganvs.Northampton

Match preview

Off the back of cup victories over Carlisle and the Nottingham Forest Under-21s either side of a defeat to Wycombe Wanderers, Wigan won a game of football inside 90 minutes for the first time since October on Saturday courtesy of a 1-0 triumph over Barnsley.

Midfielder Thelo Aasgaard grabbed the all-important goal three minutes shy of the half-time whistle to hand Shaun Maloney's men all three points in a game where they had their backs against the wall for large spells.

Having ended last season in blistering form, the Latics are yet to kick on this term and currently sit 17th in the League One table, a whopping nine points behind the teams in the playoffs and just two points ahead of the drop zone.

Much of Wigan's struggles so far can be attributed to their attacking unit which has yielded the joint second-fewest goals in the division (13), largely undermining the impressive work done by a frugal defensive unit with fewer goals conceded (12) than any other team in the division excluding Wrexham United.

Ahead of their FA Cup involvement against Cambridge United at the weekend, Tuesday's hosts will be keen to keep their good run of form going as they look to put a slow start to the campaign behind them.

Northampton Town were involved in a second consecutive share of the spoils courtesy of a drab goalless draw against Cambridge as the teams went head to head at the Sixfields Stadium on Saturday.

Jon Brady's men remain without a victory since early November, when they emphatically beat the Leicester City Under-21s 3-0 in an EFL Trophy clash having drawn three and lost one of the subsequent four matches.

A tally of 18 points picked up from 16 games has The Cobblers 16th in the standings, one point clear of their next opponents ahead of Tuesday's meeting between two teams languishing in the lower echelons of the table.

Northampton do not have fond memories of games against Wigan after losing six of the last eight editions of this fixture, although they did hold out for a 1-1 stalemate in January's most recent encounter.

Currently on a run of just one victory in eight away league matches on the road this term, Tuesday's visitors have it all to do on the road once again in their quest to get back to winning ways and kickstart their season.

Wigan Athletic League One form:

D

L

L

D

L

W

Wigan Athletic form (all competitions):

L

D

W

L

W

W

Northampton Town League One form:

D

W

L

D

D

D

Northampton Town form (all competitions):

L

W

D

L

D

D

Team News

Wigan midfielder Tyrese Francois is a major doubt for this one after coming off with an injury problem in the first half of his side's victory over Barnsley last time out.

Should Francois be deemed unfit to participate, Scott Smith is in line to be recalled to the hosts' lineup for this one after failing to start any of the last two games.

Tom Eaves made his return to action for Northampton via a 17-minute cameo against Cambridge, and the midfielder is expected to be eased back gradually into the thick of things.

However, Matthew Ireland is still unavailable for the visitors as the 18-year-old prepares to sit out a third straight game with an injury he picked up against Burton Albion.

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:

Tickle; Sessegnon, Aimson, Kerr, Sibbick; Smith, Adeeko; Thomas, Aasgaard, Rankine; Taylor

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:

Burge; Odimayo, Eyoma, Guthrie, Guinness-Walker; Chouchane, Fox; Pinnock, McGeehan, Hoskins; Roberts

We say: Wigan Athletic 2-0 Northampton Town

Wigan have shown significant improvement over the last couple of matches and will be confident of edging out a Northampton side who cannot buy a goal at the moment.

We are backing the home side to claim a routine win at the end of the 90 minutes.

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