Oxford United travel to Wigan Athletic on Saturday in what could turn out to be a must-win for both teams. The Latics sit bottom of the table with just seven points, but the U’s are only two points above them following their 2-0 defeat at home to Crewe on Tuesday night.
Both sides are struggling for momentum. This could be the game to springboard results as a busy December fast approaches.
Wigan have just two wins this season but they came at Portsmouth and at home to Doncaster. However, since then, the Latics have lost seven of their eight games, drawing the other against Plymouth. They were also dumped out of the FA Cup first round at home to non-league Chorley.
Rob Atkinson could return to a defence which has kept just one clean sheet in their last 21 games. John Mousinho was also on the bench for the defeat against Crewe, so Karl Robinson has all of his defensive options available.
Sam Winnall limped off on Tuesday night with what appeared to be a hamstring problem, so he will be unable to take part on Saturday.
Right-back Tom James, who is on loan from Hibernian, has scored three times for the Latics this season while left-back Tom Pearce has provided five assists. Joe Garner is the clubs’ top scorer with seven goals from 13 appearances.
Despite that, Wigan have scored the lowest amount of league goals this season (8) but have conceded one fewer goal than Oxford in League One (18).
The two sides have only met ten times but Wigan have the head-to-head advantage. In fact, the Latics have won the last six meetings, which includes a 7-0 thrashing under Pep Clotet in 2017.
Predicted line-up: Simon Eastwood, Josh Ruffels, Rob Atkinson, Elliott Moore, Anthony Forde, Alex Rodriguez Gorrin, Mark Sykes, Marcus McGuane, Mide Shodipo, Joel Cooper, Matty Taylor.
Prediction: Wigan Athletic 1-2 Oxford United
