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

In what is an all-League One affair, Wigan Athletic will entertain Stockport County in the second round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday at Brick Community Stadium.

The hosts are entering this contest off the back of a 2-2 draw against Rotherham United, while the visitors defeated Burton Albion 2-1 last weekend.

Match preview

Wigan Athletic have recorded mixed results in their start to the 2025-26 season under the guidance of Ryan Lowe, who has led the Latics to three victories, two losses and a draw across all competitions.

Wigan claimed a convincing 3-1 win over Northampton on the first day of the season, but a 2-1 defeat to Leyton Orient followed, before the Tics earned a 1-0 win over Notts County in the first round of the EFL Cup, and a 2-0 triumph over Peterborough in gameweek three.

Since then, the home side have remained winless in their last two games, having been dispatched 1-0 by Luton Town, followed by a 2-2 draw against Rotherham United last weekend.

Although it is still early days in the season, Lowe would be worried about the inconsistency of his team, but their first-round triumph over Notts County gave them the perfect start to their EFL Cup campaign this term.

That narrow win over their first-round opponents earned them a place in the second round for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Ahead of this fixture, they will be looking to build on that and earn another victory that will see them make the third round of the competition for the first time since 2013-14, when they were trounced 5-0 by Manchester City.

The former Premier League outfit needs to start on a strong note in this contest, as they have lost only two of their previous six matches when they failed to score first.

After what appears to be a temporary decline in performance, 10-man Stockport County returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory over Burton Albion at Edgeley Park to snap a two-game winless run.

The visitors started the season like a house on fire, winning their first three competitive games, including a 3-1 victory over Crewe Alexandra courtesy of goals from Kyle Wootton, Ethan Pye and Lewis Fiorini.

Undoubtedly, their impressive run is due to their scoring prowess, having recorded 12 goals in all competitions, with at least two scored in five of those six fixtures.

However, Dave Challinor's team has consistently shown frailties at the back, having been breached in all but one of their six competitive games, and they have collected the ball from the back of their net six times already in League One, a record that is the fifth-worst in the English third tier.

Given that progression to the latter stages of this competition has been tricky for the visitors, Challinor will need his defence to be up and doing on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the away side are unbeaten in two previous head-to-head meetings, winning one and recording a draw in the other.

Wigan Athletic EFL Cup form:

Wigan Athletic form (all competitions):

Stockport County EFL Cup form:

Stockport County form (all competitions):

Team News

Wigan's medical staff are currently overwhelmed with the number of players on the treatment table at the moment, while Lowe will be battling with a selection headache.

In defence, Isaac Mabaya has been limited to only two appearances this season due to injury, while Kmarni Miller is yet to feature this term, but Will Aimson, Morgan Fox and Jason Kerr have held the fort as the back three in their absence.

Similarly, Joe Adams (knee), Matthew Smith (hamstring) and Chris Sze (foot) have not played for the hosts since the start of the season, and this encounter will come too soon for the trio.

Furthermore, Dion Rankine and Callum McManaman are yet to be involved in the current campaign as well; nevertheless, Ryan Trevitt and Joseph Hungbo have been mainstays in the middle of the park, and they could get the nod to anchor the midfield once again.

Meanwhile, Brad Hills was sent off in their last outing, meaning he will be suspended for the Hatters, and that could pave the way for Nigerian Joseph Olowu to deputise at right back.

Lewis Bate, Callum Camps and Arttu Hoskonen are all touch-and-go for this encounter, while Tayo Edun is ruled out as a result of a knee problem.

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:

Tickle; Aimson, Kerr, Fox; Francois; Hungbo, Trevitt, Murray, Wright; Saydee, Costelloe

Stockport County possible starting lineup:

Addai; Pye, Connolly, Olowu; Moxon, Norwood, Dodgson, O’Keeffe; Mothersille, Diamond; Lowe

We say: Wigan Athletic 3-2 Stockport County

Both teams will come into this fixture with reputations of being two of the best attacking sides in League One, but both sides have struggled at the back.

That said, we are likely to witness a high-scoring fixture, with Wigan edging a tight game 3-2.

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