With three wins in succession – the last of which was a 1-0 win against West Brom – Wigan are enduring a very impressive turnaround in form as they bid to go five points clear of the relegation zone with three points against the Town.
The Hatters meanwhile, who themselves are in good form, can move to within two points of safety and lift themselves up off the bottom of the table.
The season so far
Wigan were bottom of the Sky Bet Championship after a tough Christmas period but with just three losses in the league since the turn of the new year, Paul Cook’s team are now two points above the relegation zone in 19th place.
The manager
After a 23-year playing career came to an end – where he turned out for the likes of Wigan, Norwich City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City and Burnley – Paul Cook went into management in 2006 with Southport. After a brief stint there, he went on to spend five years with Sligo Rovers where he guided his team to the 2010 FAI Cup final and won the League Cup.
Spells with Accrington Stanley and Chesterfield followed his time in Ireland, and then in 2015, Cook was appointed as manager at Portsmouth where he guided them to the League Two title a couple of seasons later.
In 2017 he joined Wigan and led them to the League One title and on an impressive FA Cup run which saw them beat Bournemouth, West Ham and Manchester City – the latter of which made him the first English manager to be a team managed by Pep Guardiola.
The threat last time
Kieffer Moore was the goalscorer for Wigan in the last meeting between the two sides and he has six goals to his name for the season. Having also provided four assists, the Welsh international is a handful Town will have to be at their best to try and contain.
The 27-year-old has played every minute in their last four matches, scoring three goals and setting up one as well.
History
Wigan Athletic were formed in 1932 and were later elected to the Football League in 1978. Following years in the lower divisions, the Latics were promoted into the Premier League in 2005, where they remained for eight seasons.
In 2013, they won the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium but in that same season, Wigan were relegated and have bounced between the Championship and League One since.
The ground
The DW Stadium has been home to Wigan Athletic since the 1999/2000 season, prior to their matches being played at Springfield Park.
They once welcomed a capacity crowd of over 25,000 during the final match of the 2007-08 season against Manchester United and they also lease the ground to rugby league team Wigan Warriors.
The stats
