Preview: Stockport County vs Wigan Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

Experiencing contrasting seasons in England's third tier, Stockport County and Wigan Athletic lock horns at Edgeley Park in League One on Saturday afternoon. 

The hosts will be aiming to close the gap to the automatic promotion spots and bounce back from a narrow 1-0 defeat to Bradford City in midweek, while the Latics arrive in improved spirits after Gary Caldwell secured victory in his first match back in charge of his old club on Tuesday night.

Match preview

After putting together an impressive seven-game unbeaten run in League One, Dave Challinor’s side suffered a setback in midweek as former player Antoni Sarcevic scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 win for Bradford City, lifting the Bantams above the Hatters in the table.

Despite the disappointing loss to a playoff rival, the previous run Stockport County had been on, as well as earlier season performances, has been good enough to ensure the Hatters will be serious playoff contenders come the end of the season. 

Following their 31 league outings, Challinor's men have won 15, drawn eight and lost eight, leaving them fifth with 53 points to their name and also with games in hand on the sides around them to come. 

Supporters will be eager to see their side return to winning ways quickly, as maintaining a place inside the top six at this stage of the campaign could prove crucial to their promotion ambitions, particularly after narrowly missing out on Championship football last season.

Should they come away with three points on Saturday, they could potentially create an eight-point gap between themselves and seventh place. 

© Imago / Every Second Media

As for Wigan Athletic, they enjoyed the perfect start to Gary Caldwell’s return to the club as a Joe Taylor strike secured a hard-fought and very much-needed victory over Luton Town on Tuesday night.

The Scottish boss, who previously managed the club between April 2015 and October 2016 for 71 games and also played for them, has returned  to Greater Manchester with the task of steering the Latics clear of relegation trouble during the run-in.

Caldwell inherited a side sitting inside the relegation zone and winless in eight matches in all competitions, but that winning start has lifted Wigan out of the bottom four and provided a much-needed boost in confidence.

Not only was it a rare victory for Wigan, it also marked their first clean sheet since early December against Burton Albion, highlighting the immediate impact Gary Caldwell has made after just one game in charge.

Although a winning return for Caldwell is more than ideal, there is still plenty of work to be done to ensure League One status for next season. 

Albeit under different management, Wigan earned a point when the pair met back in August; another result like that would continue a dream start for Caldwell. 

Stockport County League One form:

Stockport County form (all competitions):

Wigan Athletic League One form:

Wigan Athletic form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Stockport will be forced into changes after suffering a major injury setback during last time out. 

Everton loanee Tyler Onyango was forced off shortly after half-time with a hamstring injury and has since been ruled out for the remainder of the season, with surgery required.

Roman Dixon, also on loan from Everton, could be called upon to fill the gap at right-back, although the more experienced option Josh Dacres-Cogley is also available again after serving a suspension following his red card against Leyton Orient.

In the job less than a week, it is unlikely Caldwell will know his best XI just yet but he will already be forced to make changes to the team after sustaining injuries in their win over Luton Town. 

Raphael Borges Rodrigues was replaced before half-time and is unlikely to feature on Saturday, Joseph Hungbo is an option to come in for him if that is the case. 

Jack Hunt is also expected to miss out again after being forced off with an injury in their FA Cup defeat to Arsenal, while James Carragher and Harry McHugh remain sidelined.

On a more positive note, however, Baba Adeeko and Luke Robinson have returned to training and could potentially be available for selection from the bench.

Stockport County possible starting lineup:

Hinchliffe; Dacres-Cogley, Hills, Pye; Onyango, Norwood, Bate, Osborn; Sidibeh, Wootton, Diamond

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:

Tickle; Hungbo, Aimson, Kerr, Fox, Murray; Weir, Moxon, Wright; Taylor, Saydee

We say: Stockport County 2-1 Wigan Athletic

Although both sides are at opposite ends of the table, Wigan are an unknown quantity under Caldwell and will be out to surprise high-flying Stockport County. However, we still expect the Hatters to have too much quality on the day and come away with three points. 

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