Wigan Athletic will be looking to move out of the Championship relegation zone when they welcome Bristol City to the DW Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Latics are currently 22nd in the table having won just five of their 26 league outings this season, while Bristol City sit 11th having struggled for results over the last month or so.
Match preview
© Reuters
A record of five wins, eight draws and 13 defeats from 26 matches has brought Wigan 23 points, leaving them 22nd in the Championship table heading into this weekend's fixtures in the second tier.
Only Barnsley (4) have won fewer times in the Championship this season, although the Latics are only one point from the safety of 21st and are therefore far from in a terminal position at this stage.
Paul Cook's side were dumped out of the FA Cup by Leicester City last weekend but recorded a 3-2 victory away to Birmingham City in the Championship last weekend.
They have actually only lost one of their last six in the league; wins have been hard to find, though, with four draws from their last six leaving them inside the relegation zone rather than above it.
Wigan are also winless in their last three Championship matches with Bristol City, although both fixtures between the two sides last season finished in 2-2 draws.
© Reuters
Bristol City have slid down the table in recent weeks having only won one of their last six league matches, suffering five defeats in the process. They did record a 3-0 victory over Luton Town on December 29 but suffered a heavy 4-0 loss at home to Brentford on New Year's Day.
The Robins, who finished eighth in the Championship last season, are currently 11th in the table with 38 points to show from their 26 matches during the 2019-20 campaign.
Despite a poor run, Lee Johnson's side are only three points off the playoff positions and will fancy their chances of putting an important three points on the board this weekend.
Saturday's 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup means that they must play a third-round replay on Tuesday night, though, which is hardly ideal ahead of a big game at home to Barnsley next weekend.
Wigan Championship form: DDDDLW
Wigan form (all competitions): DDDLWL
Bristol City Championship form: LLLLWL
Bristol City form (all competitions): LLLWLD
Team News
© Reuters
On-loan Everton attacker Kieran Dowell is expected to make his debut for Wigan this weekend, although Daniel Fox, Charlie Mulgrew, Kieffer Moore, Michael Jacobs, Kal Naismith and Dujon Sterling are out of action.
Sterling's injury should see Nathan Byrne return the side, but there are not expected to be many surprises with Josh Windass expected to continue in the final third.
Jamal Lowe and Sam Morsy should also both keep their spots in the XI, while Chey Dunkley is pushing for a return having been named on the bench against Birmingham on New Year's Day.
As for Bristol City, Ashley Williams served his one-game ban against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup, meaning that the experienced defender will return to the side this weekend.
Andreas Weimann, Famara Diedhiou and Niclas Eliasson should all start in the final third, while 18-year-old midfielder Han-Noah Massengo could come into the XI.
Wigan possible starting lineup:
Jones; Byrne, Dunkley, Kipre, Robinson; Evans, Morsy; Massey, Dowell, Lowe; Windass
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Hunt, Kalas, Williams, Dasilva; Smith, Massengo; Brownhill, Weimann, Eliasson; Diedhiou
We say: Wigan Athletic 2-2 Bristol City
Wigan have been the draw specialists in the Championship in recent weeks, and we are expecting more of the same at the DW Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Bristol City will see this game as the perfect chance to put three points on the board, but Johnson's side are not in the best form.
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a win with a probability of 43.93%. A win for had a probability of 30.74% and a draw had a probability of 25.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.83%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.07%) and 2-0 (7.42%). The likeliest win was 0-1 (7.95%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12%).
