Wigan Athletic take on Fulham at the DW stadium at 19:30 on Wednesday, as a truncated championship regular season comes to an end.
Perhaps surprisingly, both teams still have something to play for. Although Wigan sit firmly in mid-table, they are being subjected to a 12-point deduction as a result of them entering administration earlier in the season, which will be applied following the completion of this, the last round of fixtures. This could take them into the relegation zone, as they are currently just 10 points clear of Luton.
With 8 points from their last 5 games, Wigan have struggled to secure their safety, and are at the mercy of Luton, Charlton and an independent appeal commission as they appeal their 12 point deduction. There are encouraging signs on the pitch however as one of these games produced the record-breaking 8-0 victory over Hull City, showing the Latics have the potential to produce a thrilling performance.
Meanwhile, the visitors have an outside chance of sneaking automatic promotion, and with the guaranteed fall-back of the playoffs, the cottagers will want to maintain good form either way. Having won 5 out of their last 6 games and drawing the other, the Cottagers are doing all they can to usurp West Brom and Brentford and achieve the second automatic promotion spot.
Previous meetings:
27/09/2019 Fulham 2-0 Wigan Athletic
Fulham haven’t lost to the Latics since 2006, a remarkable record spanning 18 fixtures across the Championship and Premier League. In this time Fulham have won 8, with 10 draws.
Team News:
Wigan have defender Danny Fox unavailable as he serves the last of his 3 game suspension. Winger Michael Jacobs is a doubt having missed Wigan’s last fixture, with centre back Cheyenne Dunkley out as he continues his recovery from a broken leg.
Fulham manager Scott Parker has excellent availability for this match with Harrison Reed suspended and just the one injury concern of winger Ivan Cavaleiro.
Match Prediction:
A very difficult match to call, with Wigan enjoying a good spell of home form, and Fulham playing well both home and away, but I expect the class of Fulham to win through in the end.
Match Preview written by Will Edwards