Preview: Stevenage vs Wigan Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

Out of League One action for more than three weeks, Stevenage welcome struggling Wigan Athletic to Broadhall Way on Saturday afternoon.

Last time out in the third tier, Alex Revell's side saw their unbeaten run ended at four matches with a narrow defeat to Leyton Orient, while the Latics remained rooted to the bottom of the table after losing 1-0 to Wycombe Wanderers.

Match preview

Having narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship last season after finishing sixth and reaching the playoffs, Stevenage are aiming to go one step further this term as they continue their pursuit of a first-ever promotion to the second tier.

Still led by Revell, who will take charge of his 200th game for Boro on Saturday, Stevenage have made an inconsistent start to the 2026-27 campaign, waiting until their fifth league outing to claim their first victory, although they did so in emphatic fashion with a 5-1 away win over Barnsley.

Since then, Stevenage have recorded just one more League One victory, a 2-1 home win over Luton Town, leaving them 13th in the table after seven matches.

While their inconsistent start will be a concern for the Hertfordshire-based side, a third league win of the campaign could lift Revell's men to within one point of the playoff places, although they will be keen to improve their fortunes in front of goal.

Despite boasting one of the stronger defensive records in the division, Stevenage have scored just 11 goals so far, with only two sides above them finding the net fewer times, highlighting an area they will need to improve if they are to mount another serious promotion challenge.

With that said, Boro have scored eight times across their last two matches, following up a 6-1 win over Walsall with a 2-1 home victory over Leicester, where both sides named heavily rotated teams in EFL Trophy action.

As for visiting Wigan Athletic, they travel south in desperate need of a positive result and enter their eighth game of the campaign sitting bottom of the League One table.

From their seven outings, Gary Caldwell's side have won just once, drawn once and suffered five defeats, with the Latics currently averaging just 0.71 goals per game.

However, Wigan do have a game in hand on Peterborough immediately above them, and a first away win of the season would be enough to leapfrog them in the table and potentially move them out of the relegation zone.

Their fifth league defeat of the season was preceded by a minute's applause in memory of goalkeeping coach Kevin Miller, who had passed away earlier that week at the age of 57.

Since that defeat at the Brick Community Stadium, Caldwell's side have tasted victory in the EFL Trophy, beating Blackpool 3-2 at home thanks to goals from Connor Barrett, Scott Hogan and Fraser Murray.

Stevenage League One form:

Stevenage form (all competitions):

Wigan Athletic League One form:

Wigan Athletic form (all competitions):

Team News

Since their last league outing, Michael Mellon has scored a hat-trick in the EFL Trophy and could be handed his first league start of the season.

In League One, Revell's main attacking threats have been Dan Kemp and Oliver Sanderson, who have both scored three goals, and the pair are expected to retain their places in the starting XI.

Jordan Houghton picked up an injury during their cup clash in midweek and will be unavailable this weekend, joining midfielder Jasper Pattenden in the treatment room, with the latter having not featured since August.

As for the visitors, Wigan will play for the first time in October and are likely to make changes following their EFL Trophy victory, although Caldwell could name a similar XI after that positive result.

One expected change could come in goal, with Joe Walsh dropping to the bench and regular goalkeeper Joe Whitworth returning for the resumption of League One action.

Hogan is yet to start a league game for his new side, but his goal against Blackpool last time out could see him rewarded with a place in the starting XI, while Aston Villa loanee Bradley Burrowes could also start and provide the Irish striker with support from out wide.

A goal and two assists from full-back Barrett should ensure he retains his place, while James Carragher looks likely to return to the back three.

Stevenage possible starting lineup:

Setford; James-Wildin, Vancooten, Piergianni, Freestone; Sanderson, Phillips, Thompson, Patterson; Kemp, Mellon

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:

Whitworth; Chilokoa-Mullen, Carragher, Burns; Barrett, Power, Weir, A. Harris; Murray, Hogan, Burrowes