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Cheltenham Town
League One | Gameweek 17
Nov 11, 2023 at 3pm UK
Jonny-Rocks Stadium
Wigan logo

Cheltenham
1 - 1
Wigan

Sercombe (32' pen.)
Pett (27'), Sercombe (45+4')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Freestone (6' og.)
Rekik (39'), Jones (58'), Shaw (66')

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

Sports Mole previews Saturday's League One clash between Cheltenham Town and Wigan Athletic, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

An improving Cheltenham Town side welcome one of League One's most in-form outfit's to Whaddon Road on Saturday, when Wigan Athletic travel to face the Robins.

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

Wigan Athletic manager Shaun Maloney before the match on March 11, 2023© Reuters

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 of 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 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:


Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):


Wigan Athletic League One form:


Wigan Athletic form (all competitions):



Team News

Wigan Athletic's Omar Rekik walks off the pitch after being shown a red card on March 11, 2023© Reuters

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


SM words green background

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.

Maloney's side have taken some big scalps recently though, and their form should see them up near the playoffs if it were not for off-field issues, so another win is on the cards here.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 2.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Cheltenham vs Wigan

Cheltenham Town
20.0%
Draw
0.0%
Wigan Athletic
80.0%
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Blackpool manager Neil Critchley before the match on August 29, 2023
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CPortsmouth462813578413797
3Bolton WanderersBolton462512986513587
4Peterborough UnitedPeterborough462591289612884
5Oxford UnitedOxford Utd4622111379562377
6Barnsley4621131282641876
7Lincoln CityLincoln4620141265402574
8Blackpool4621101565481773
9Stevenage4619141357461171
10Wycombe WanderersWycombe461714156055565
11Leyton Orient461811175355-265
12Wigan AthleticWigan462010166356762
13Exeter CityExeter461710194661-1561
14Northampton TownNorthampton46179205766-960
15Bristol Rovers46169215268-1657
16Charlton AthleticCharlton461120156465-153
17Reading461611196870-253
18Cambridge UnitedCambridge461212223961-2248
19Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury46139243567-3248
20Burton Albion461210243967-2846
RCheltenham TownCheltenham46128264165-2444
RFleetwood TownFleetwood461013234972-2343
RPort Vale461011254174-3341
RCarlisle UnitedCarlisle4679304181-4030


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